A Year In A Life
by Welshwitch
Summary: A year seen through McCall's eyes.
1. January

A year in a life

January 

New Years day, the early morning light is creeping into the bedroom. It's unusually cold this winter with temperatures barely above the ten degrees Celsius and a lot of rain. Dee Dee McCall is lying in her bed all curled up trying to keep warm.

'I'm already dressed like an Eskimo and still I'm cold,' she's thinking to herself.

A look at the clock tells her it's eight.

'Well if I'm not gonna sleep anymore I might as well get out of here,' she starts to sit up but falls back into the pillow again, 'Oh my head! Last nights party is still going on in there, we did have a lot of fun though.'

Her mind flashes back to the evening before, the New Years party at the precinct.

After a little too much to drink a couple of colleagues, including herself and Hunter, were plating a game of truth or dare. At round six Hunter still hadn't played a truth question until Mike tricked him into one.

"Truth or truth?"

"What happened to dare?"

"I ran out so truth or truth."

"I guess I have no choice, truth it is."

"Are you in love with your partner?"

Everyone went silent, you could hear a pin drop. Hunter and McCall looked at each other and simultaneously said,

"NO!"

"Okay," Mike said and moved on to his next victim.

Later that night they shared a cab home,

"Do you think the cat's out of the bag?" she asked him.

"I don't know but to be safe we should lay low for a while okay?"

"Yeah, it's gonna be hard though."

"I know." he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

Waking up alone the next morning wasn't much fun, she had grown accustomed to having him there next to her. Not to mention the hangover that hit her hard,

"Maybe a hot shower will help."

McCall sat up carefully and then placed her feet on the ground one by one until she was sitting on the edge of the bed. Her head was pounding, almost bursting. She stood up and shuffled to the bathroom.

The hot water on her body did it's work, making her feel better as did the aspirin she took.

After the shower she dressed into something comfortable and went down to make some strong coffee. The light on her answering machine was blinking, indicating she had one message.

"Hey it's me," Hunter's voice said. "I just wanted to say I miss you. You were right it's hard. I love you."

McCall sat down on the couch,

"How is this ever gonna work," she thought.

The phone ringing snapped her out of her thoughts, it was her mom wanting to know if she was coming to the family get together that afternoon.

"Yes mom, I'll be there."

"Is Rick coming too?"

"I don't know he's busy."

"Oh." her mom's reaction was one of disappointment.

"I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye honey."

McCall hung up and went to the kitchen to get her coffee. Back on the couch she flipped on the TV to see if there was anything on to forget about her problems for a while.

It was almost noon when a knock on the door woke her, she stood up and shuffled to the door. A look through the peephole told her it was Hunter standing outside.

Taking a deep breath she opened the door,

"Hi," she said softly.

"Can I come in?"

She stepped aside and motioned for him to come in.

"I thought we were going to lay low for a while," she said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"I deserved that," he replied. "Lookit Dee Dee, the fact is I can't. It was a mistake of me to ever suggest that. I miss you. I miss having you next to me when I wake up," he put his hands on her shoulders.

"I miss watching you sleep, I miss everything about you."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his chest, he kissed the top of her head.

"I missed you so much, don't ever suggest that again."

"I won't."

Her eye fell on a container Hunter brought with him,

"What did you bring?"

"Chowder, homemade."

"Not by you I hope."

He shot her a dirty look, "No, mom made it. She was disappointed that I didn't bring you this morning."

"My mom called, she wants you there with me this afternoon."

"I'll be there, I don't want to disappoint any more people today."

"Let's have some of this first," she let go of him and went to the kitchen to heat up the chowder.

Grace, McCall's mom was glad to see them,

"Come in. come in. Everyone is here. Rick it's good to see you."

"Hi Grace, thanks for the invitation."

Grace went to the kitchen to finish dinner leaving her daughter and Hunter to take off their coats.

"Hey sis, brought your partner again. When are you gonna find yourself a real man." her sister Michelle was joking. Hunter and McCall looked at each other,

"We might as well let that cat out," Hunter said to her.

"I think you are right."

Michelle looked at the not having a clue what they were talking about.

"He is a real man Mich and he's mine."

"Are you saying what I think you are?"

"We are an item if that's what you mean."

"Wow sis, I'm so happy for you. When did this happen."

"Oh about six years ago only we didn't tell each other until last Christmas."

"Well you know mom will be pleased, she always thought of you two as the perfect couple."

"I know, she said it so often. Do me a favor and don't say anything, I'd like to tell her myself."

"No problem, I'm keeping this a secret."

They went into the living room and said their hello's to the rest of the family.

McCall joined her mom in the kitchen to help her out.

"You two look so happy together," she said while making some coffee.

"How did you know?"

"I'm your mother, mother's know these things."

McCall smiled, "You are right, we are happy."

"You sure took your time."

Her mom's comment surprised her.

"The first time you brought him here I could tell there was something. He was already in love with you and you weren't far off. I'm glad you two finally gave in to it."

"Thanks mom."

Hunter walked in to see where McCall was hiding,

"Since you are now officially part of the family you can take this to the living room," Grace handed him a plate filled with snacks.

"I assume you told her huh."

"I didn't have to."

"Ah, mother's instinct. The same happened to me this morning."

Later that evening Hunter and McCall were taking a walk around the neighborhood. He had draped his arm loosely around her shoulders. They walked in silence enjoying the fresh cold air. Hunter broke the silence,

"What's on your mind?"

He could tell she was thinking about something.

"Now that we have told the family about us we have to tell Charlie too. He will find out."

"I guess we have to, It's better if he hears it from us." Hunter replied.

"He will break us up as partners though, I don't know if I want that."

"I don't like it either, but we would still see each other."

"Yeah you're right. At least we don't have to sneak around anymore."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and they walked on.

The next morning at eight the two of them were sitting in Charlie's office,

"What is so important and couldn't wait till later," a sleepy and now grumpy Charlie said to them.

McCall looked from Charlie to Hunter, "Bad timing," she mouthed to him.

"I saw that McCall, now spill it."

"Well…" Hunter started but McCall interrupted him. "After six years of denial and going around in circles we gave in. We are in love and have been together since Christmas," she blurted out.

"So tell me something I didn't know," Charlie replied.

A stunned couple was looking at him, "You knew?" Hunter said surprised.

"You two did a good job hiding it but to me it was obvious. I knew there was something between you the day I started this job."

"Why didn't you say anything," McCall wanted to know.

"Because you did and still do a very good job and don't let your personal feelings get in the way. And as long as you keep on doing so I'm not eager to split you up. But if I notice any change in that I will."

"What about 'upstairs'," Hunter asked.

"Screw upstairs, they don't know anything. Now if that was all go out there and catch me some bad guys."

They walked back to their desks and sat down, "Now that wasn't so bad," Hunter said to her.

"No it wasn't. I get the feeling it was too easy."

Their conversation was cut short by McCall's phone ringing.

"McCall, homicide."

The person on the other side of the line rambled away.

"Slow down Max, I can't understand you when you ramble like that."

McCall was listening in silence,

"Where are you now? Okay stay there, I'm coming over right now."

She hung up and opened the bottom drawer of her desk to get her purse. Hunter looked at her questioningly,

"What was that all about? Where are you going?"

"That was Maxine, she's one of my 'colleagues' from the street. I met her on one of my undercover jobs. She just witnessed a murder."

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, it took me a long time for her to trust me. I have to go alone, I'll be fine."

McCall drove to a rough part of town and pulled over in front of the building where Maxine lived. She got out, went in and walked up to the second floor to find the door to the apartment open. With her gun drawn she carefully opened the door further and stepped inside. Maxine was lying on the living room floor, her shirt soaked in blood. McCall made sure the rest of the apartment was clear before kneeling besides her and checking her vital signs. She was alive, barely.

McCall called for an ambulance and some backup.

When she kneeled back down next to her Maxine opened her eyes and tried to say something.

"Shhh, don't speak. Save your strength."

"Dee Dee…you…have to…know. The murder…in the…alley, Oskar…did it."

"Who's Oskar, Max?"

"Oskar…Jackson." those were the last words she spoke, her head fell aside and she died.

"Max?" McCall said but in her heart she knew she was dead.

Later she was telling Hunter what had happened when the coroner brought out Max's body to take her to the morgue. Hunter stopped him,

"Let me take another look Joe."

Joe zipped the bag open and Hunter looked inside. After a few minutes he zipped it up again.

"What were you looking for?" McCall asked him.

"I've seen this girl before somewhere," he answered. "I don't know where but it will come to me. How old was she?"

"A little older than me, why?"

"She reminds me of someone I met in New York once. That was before you and I became partners."

"We should check out this Oskar Jackson she told me about," McCall said as she walked to the car followed by Hunter who was still wondering where he had seen that face before.

Back at the precinct he grabbed the phone and dialed,

"Hello, Sgt. Rick Hunter LAPD, may I speak to Melanie Baxter please? Yes, I'll hold."

McCall sat down at her desk and watched her partner as he made the call.

"Hey Barry, It's Rick. Rick Hunter, I expected Mel on the phone. Oh she's on a coffee break. Still hooked on the stuff huh. No, I really need to speak to her on this one. Yeah, I'll hold."

He looked at McCall, who raised her eyebrows at him,

"I think I know where I saw her before," he explained.

"Hi Mel, It's Rick. I'm fine, how are things over there? Good to hear. Listen the reason I'm calling isn't a nice one. I need to know when was the last time you saw your sister. That long ago and where was she living two years ago? Aha, Phoenix okay. My partner and me are investigating a double homicide and I have reason to believe your sister was one of the victims. I'll email a picture for you to identify. I'm sorry Mel. Yes I'll keep you posted, bye." he hung up.

"Talk to me Hunter."

"Before we met and became partners I worked in New York for a year. Mel was my partner over there and she told me about her sister who was always hanging with the wrong people. She eventually got addicted to drugs and went into prostitution to pay for it. Mel got her off the street and into a rehab program. She kicked the addiction but not the street life and took off. Last time Mel heard from her was two years ago and she was living in Phoenix at the time."

"You think Max is her sister?"

"I met her in New York a couple of times and the resemblance is too great to be a coincidence. I'll send a picture to Mel to see if she can identify her."

"Okay, I'll scan it or you."

As soon as she got the picture Mel send a message back, It was her sister. Hunter's hunch was right.

"Now for this Oskar Jackson…"

"While you were busy I ran his name through the computer." McCall said.

"And?"

"A rap sheet about a mile long. Mostly little things, theft, robbing old ladies handbags and breaking and entering. The interesting part is that he came here to LA a year and a half ago from New York."

"Was he ever arrested for anything to do with prostitution?"

"No, but that doesn't say he wasn't involved."

"You're right. Why don't we go back to Maxine's apartment see if we missed anything."

"Good idea."

They arrived at the apartment and went in. Hunter started in the kitchen and McCall in the bedroom. In one of the nightstands she found a couple of notebooks, they turned out to be Maxine's diary. She went to Hunter who was now searching the living room,

"I found these in the bedroom. It looked like Max kept a diary."

"They might contain some clues."

"I hope so, it would make the case a bit easier. Did you find anything?"

"No, not really. Let's go back and see what forensic found."

Later that day Hunter was sitting at his desk reading the forensic report,

"They found a lot of fingerprints, Maxine's and also Mr. Jackson's. So that places him at the scene of the crime."

He glanced over the file to McCall who was reading in one of the notebooks.

"Did you hear anything I just said?"

"Hmm?" she looked up.

"It's kinda strange looking into someone's life like this. The diary starts around the time she left New York."

"It's getting late, why don't we go home and leave this till tomorrow."

"Yeah, I could do with a good night sleep." McCall sighed.

"Your place or mine?"

At McCall's place later that evening the diary couldn't leave McCall alone, she had brought it home with her and couldn't stop reading it until Hunter put a stop to it.

"There's a hot shower with your name on it waiting upstairs."

"Yeah, later."

"No now, so give that diary." Hunter reached out to get it.

McCall pulled back, "Since when did you become my mother?"

"Since now." he bent over and gave her a quick kiss.

She rolled her eyes, "Okay mom, I'm going."

Meanwhile Hunter turned on the TV and started flipping the channels. He heard a familiar sound coming from the bathroom, it was McCall singing. Silently he walked up the stairs to surprise her, he went into the bedroom, took his clothes off and slipped into the bathroom. McCall was busy washing her hair and didn't notice anything with her eyes closed. He pulled the shower curtain aside just enough to see her. Carefully he slipped into the shower and placed his hands on her hips, she froze.

"Hunter will you take those cold hands of off my body!" she cried.

"Sorry, is this better?" he enveloped her into an embrace.

"Much better," she whispered.

The sweet scent of her shower gel tickled Hunter's nose and he liked the feeling of her soft skin on his. He started to kiss her, first her neck and then down to her shoulders. She let out a soft moan of pleasure,

"That feels good."

His grip on her loosened so she turned around to face him, her arms wrapped around his waist, followed by a passionate kiss.

"Let's continue this in the bedroom," he whispered in her ear, she just smiled and maneuvered him with his back to the shower, reached for the tap and turned off the warm water before making a run for it.

The cold water hit him like a ton of bricks. Quickly he turned the water off and went after McCall. He caught up her in the bedroom, grabbed her and together they fell on the bed.

"Did you cool off?" she asked him catching her breath.

"No," he said and gazed in her eyes.

The night that followed was one of passion and love.

Two weeks passed and the investigation of Max's murder was getting nowhere fast, Oskar Jackson had vanished from the planet. The leads Hunter and McCall got lead to nothing, even Sporty and his contacts couldn't help them. The diary McCall found in the apartment did mention Jackson's name but not what he was doing or who he was. He had arrived in LA a few weeks after Max had, there had to be a connection.


	2. February

February 

The trail in Max's murder case had gone pretty cold much to McCall's frustration. Charlie was about to close the case on them until there came a call from New York, it was Mel.

"Oskar Jackson is in New York. A witness to a robbery identified him as one of the men who did it."

"Mel, that's the best news I had in ages about this case, thanks," Hunter said to her and hung up the phone.

"What did she have for us?" McCall wanted to know.

"Mr. Jackson, in person. He's been picked out of a mug book by a witness to a robbery he and some other guy did."

"Great, that means we have a new lead."

"In New York, not here."

"Then we'll just have to get over there."

"Charlie will never let us."

"So you want to go to New York and solve this case?" Charlie paced up and down behind his desk, Hunter and McCall stood on the other side watching.

"I can't send the two of you over there, it would just cost the department too much money. One of you can go," Charlie said as he stopped pacing and looked at them.

"McCall should go," Hunter said.

"It's her case in the first place. I'll help as much as I can from here."

"Okay, is that alright with you?" Charlie looked at McCall

"Yeah it is, thanks. I won't let you down."

"I know you won't. Get this guy."

Back at their desks Hunter sat down on the corner of hers,

"I have to tell you something I think you should know."

McCall leaned back into her seat to listen.

"When I was in New York that year Mel and I had a relationship. It ended because I left and the both of us knew a long distance love would never work out."

"Thanks for being honest with me, I suspected it already. It was the way you talked to her on the phone."

"It's not a problem?"

"No Rick, I know you love me now. It's a thing of your past."

He gave her a light kiss,

"Thanks."

"Now all I need is a place to stay over there. Any suggestions?"

"I do have an idea but I'm not sure if you are gonna like it."

"Try me."

"Stay at Mel's place. I'm sure she won't mind."

"You were right, I don't like that idea."

"Well I don't see why not and besides I'd rather have you stay with her than in some hotel."

"This is exactly what Charlie's afraid of, you getting overprotective with me. But if it makes you feel better I'll stay with Mel," McCall stood up and walked to the ladies room leaving a stunned Hunter behind.

Their row didn't go unnoticed, "Hunter in my office now!"

He did as he was told.

"She's right, this is what I am afraid of, you not giving her any space to work, getting overprotective. She's a big girl Hunter and hasn't stopped being a cop because she fell in love with you."

"I know Charlie," Hunter sighed.

"Then start acting like it cause otherwise it will be new partners for the both of you."

Hunter went back to his desk and picked up the phone to call Mel. At that moment McCall came out of the ladies room and sat down at her desk.

"I'm sorry for getting so upset. It wasn't a bad idea for me to stay with Mel, it will save the department some money too." she said looking down, defeat written all over her face.

"I'm sorry for being so pushy. I'll try to treat you as always," he reached his hand across his desk towards her and she took it.

Later that evening at McCall's place she was packing,

"Take some warm clothes with you, it's cold this time of year," Mel had told her.

Everything had been arranged for her stay over there, Mel said she was looking forward to meet her. McCall did too, she was curious if Mel was the type of woman Hunter usually dated. When she was done she went downstairs, Hunter was sitting on the couch watching TV, she sat down next to him.

"Done?" he wanted to know.

"Yes, I'm all packed and ready to go."

"Good. Then I've got something for you," he turned off the TV and got up to get a small box out of his coat pocket. He sat back down next to her and handed her the box.

"This is to make sure the rest of the world knows you are with me."

She looked at him, then to the box and carefully opened the lid. Inside was a small, elegant ring. Silver with a little diamond in it.

"Rick, It's beautiful."

Hunter took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger,

"Dee Dee would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She looked at him with tears welling in her eyes,

"Yes, I would," she whispered.

Meanwhile in New York, Oskar Jackson knew the police were on to him and he needed a place to hide.

'What better than right under their noses,' he thought.

He forced a way into the basement of an apartment building, broke into a storage room and made himself comfortable.

Upstairs in one of the apartments Mel was just coming out of the shower thinking about the person who was going to stay with her for a while. She wondered if this Sgt. McCall was anything like her, medium height, blond, not afraid but careful.

Hunter hadn't told her much about his partner just some things she needed to know like their engagement. She sat down on the couch to watch the late night news before turning in.

'If she's as good a cop as Hunter tells me, I'm in for a tough ride,' she thought.

The flight to New York was a comfortable one, McCall was glad to have a window seat.

Her mind wondered to earlier that morning at the airport saying goodbye to Huntre.

"I promised myself not to cry," she sobbed standing in front of him.

He put his hands on her shoulders,

"It's okay, I'm gonna miss you so much."

"Last call for passengers for flight 400 to New York, board now!" the speaker sounded through the departure lounge.

They gave each other another long kiss, McCall took her bags and went to the gate. A last look and she was gone.

"Ever been to New York?" the guy next to her asked.

"No, first time," she answered him.

"Business or pleasure?"

"More business than pleasure I'm afraid," she smiled.

"BTW I'm Jim Gordon. I'm flying in for the office appliances salesmen convention. You don't happen to be attending do you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm Dee Dee McCall. I'm going to New York on official police business."

"You are a cop?"

"Yes I am."

"Wow, I always wanted to be one but never made to the academy. So I followed into my father's footsteps and became a salesman."

"My father wasn't too happy with me becoming a cop to put it mildly but he was proud of me in the end."

They spend the rest of the flight talking about their jobs and lives. When they got off the plane and into the airport building Jim went his way and McCall hers,

"Good luck on your convention," she said to him.

"Same to you on your official police business."

The arrival hall was big and crowded, McCall looked if she could see the sign with her name on it like they agreed on over the phone. When she spotted it she walked towards the woman who was holding it.

"You must be Mel, hi I'm Dee Dee McCall."

"Hi Dee Dee. Yeah I'm Mel, welcome to New York. How was your flight?"

"Good."

She looked at Mel who was a little taller than her and understood why Hunter fell for her back then. She definitely was his type. Mel gave her a quick once over too,

'She's nothing like I imagined,' she thought.

"I suggest we take your bags to my apartment first and go to the station after that to meet the rest of your new colleagues," Mel said.

"Okay, that sounds good to me."

They drove through the rush hour crowd to the apartment and Mel showed her the room she would be staying in. After that they went downtown to the 16th precinct. There weren't much officers in the squad room, most of them were out.

"Dee Dee meet Barry Johnson. Barry meet Dee Dee McCall," Mel introduced her.

"Ah you must be Hunter's partner from LA, welcome," Barry said.

"Thanks."

"That's Mike Bowen, Andy Clark and Mitch Michaels." McCall shook hands with all of them.

"Is the boss in?" Mel asked Barry.

"Yeah, I think so."

They went to the captain's office and Mel knocked on the door,

"Come in."

She opened it and the both of them entered.

"You must be Sgt. McCall from the LAPD," Captain Brown shook hands with her.

"Yes I am. Thank you for letting me help with this investigation."

"Well your Captain is an old friend of mine and when he told me you had been working hard on this I figured we could use your help on this. I hope your stay here will be okay."

"Thank you, I think it will."

"How is Det. Hunter these days?"

"He's fine and it's Sgt. Hunter now."

"I believe you are his partner?"

"Yes, I am."

"I hope you are a more sensible officer than he was."

"I'll try."

"Good. Sgt. Baxter will fill you in on the details of the case. If there's anything don't hesitate to ask."

"I won't."

They left the office and Mel showed McCall her desk,

"So Hunter has a reputation here as well huh," she looked at Mel.

"Still reckless and not going by the book is he?"

"You could say that. We kinda keep each other out of trouble."

"You are making me very curious."

"I'll tell you about it later."

The rest of the afternoon they spend comparing notes and information about the case.

That evening McCall gave Hunter a call.

"How do you like the Big Apple so far?" he wanted to know.

"Busy. Mel only lives two blocks from the precinct but it took us half an hour to get there. The people here look so stressed."

"Most of them are. I talked to Sporty today, a contact of his assures him Jackson is staying in New York. He has a girlfriend there."

"I know, Mel checked her out. She says she hasn't seen him for a long time. Mel believes she's lying."

"How are you two getting along?"

"Fine, she's great."

"That's good to hear. I've been looking for those notebooks you found in Maxine's apartment."

"I took them with me, I thought Mel should have them. There's nothing in them we can use and they did belong to her sister."

"You are right."

They both went silent for a moment.

"Rick are you still there?"

"I am. God I miss you."

"I miss you too," she whispered and for the first time today a feeling of homesick washed over her. She looked at the ring he gave her before she left,

"I've gotta go, talk to you later."

"Yeah okay. I love you."

"I love you too."

She hung up the phone and sat down on the couch.

Mel had made a quick dinner, which she put on the table,

"Did he find out anything new?"

"No, nothing we didn't already know," McCall said flatly.

"Are you okay?"

"Just feeling a bit home sick I guess."

"And missing Rick?"

"Yeah."

"You couldn't have gotten yourself a better guy," Mel sighed.

"He told me about you two. I know he likes you very much."

"I like him too and I'm glad he found someone to love. Now let's eat, the food is getting cold."

Later that evening they sat down with a cup of coffee and McCall gave Mel the diary.

"I found these in Maxine's apartment, it's her diary. I had to read it to see if there was anything in there we could use."

"And?"

"Not much, just that Jackson arrived in LA a few weeks after Maxine did."

"She mentioned him once to me but I didn't think much of it at the time. I just thought he was one of her boyfriends. I was so wrong." Mel looked down at the notebooks.

"Thank you for these. Now I can find out what kind of life my sister was leading since she left."

"That's okay. If you don't mind I'm going to turn in, it's been a long day."

"I think I'll do the same."

When McCall walked into the kitchen the next morning she found a note on the table from Mel,

'I'm following a hunch. Help yourself to some breakfast. See you at the station.'

'So Hunter left some of his influence behind,' she thought with a smile on her face.

McCall's arrival hadn't come unnoticed with the new resident in the basement. Oskar Jackson had recognized her,

'It's a shame you are going back to LA empty handed Sgt. McCall,' he thought as he watched her leave the building.

He slipped into the basement and went to his hideout to get some sleep.

McCall decided to walk to the station,

'It's only two blocks,' she thought.

It took her ten minutes to get there and they seemed to be the longest ten minutes ever. She sat down across from Mel, who looked over the file she was reading,

"What's with you? You look like you just seen something you've never before."

"I have. This city, it's so busy, vibrant, mad even. I always thought LA was like that but this…"

"Welcome to New York, the city that never sleeps," Barry yelled from across the room.

"Now I know why Rick loved it so much here, never a dull moment," she sighed.

Mel smiled from behind the file, she was starting to like McCall more and more.

"Okay, back to business now. How about we talk to Jackson's girlfriend again. You had the idea she was lying?"

"Yeah, when she told me she hadn't seen him for a while she looked away, like she was scared or something."

"Shall we bring her in for some more questioning?"

"Sounds fine with me, maybe we can get her to talk in here."

During the drive to Sheena Miller's place they weren't aware that someone was following them.

Mohammed Johnson, better known as Mojo, one of Jackson's henchmen kept his distance as he saw the two police officers enter the building where Sheena lived. He waited patiently for them to come out.

Mel knocked on the door of apartment 4b, the door opened as far as the chain would allow it.

"Police," they showed their badges.

"We want to talk to you Sheena," Mel said.

"I have told you everything I know the last time. I don't know where he is."

"We are not so sure about that," McCall pitched in.

"We understand that you are scared of him, we know how he can be. But if you decide to help us we can protect you."

Sheena looked down for a second and looked back at McCall,

"You can protect me?" she repeated.

"If you go with us to the station and tell us your story, we can help you."

Sheena thought about it for a second,

"Okay, I'll help. Let me get my purse."

She closed the door and a few minutes later walked out of the building with Mel and McCall.

Mojo was still watching from a distance. As they drove away he put his car in gear and took off in the opposite direction. He stopped at an abandoned warehouse near the docks and called Oskar.

"Yeah those two cops took her to the station. We can't take any chances with her, you don't know if she's gonna talk. Yeah, I know what to do, don't worry."

He hung up and drove away.

Meanwhile Mel, McCall and Sheena had arrived at the station,

"We can use Interview room 1," Mel said.

They entered and sat down at the table, Sheena wasn't feeling very comfortable she was clutching her purse tightly and looked around nervously.

"Now what can you tell me about Oskar Jackson," McCall started.

Sheena let out a sigh, " Like I said before I don't know where he's staying. He just comes around sometimes, do his thing and leaves."

McCall looked at Mel who shrugged her shoulders.

"But last week I overheard a conversation between him and Mojo. When he found out he threatened to kill me if I told anyone, especially the police."

Mel was getting a bit impatient with her,

"What did you overhear?"

Sheena looked at her with a mixture of anger and fear.

"Remember we promised to protect you," McCall said to try and persuade Sheena to talk.

"I remember," she took a deep breath and started her story,

" It was the first day that Oskar was back in New York. Mojo came by, he does some things for Oskar like set up meetings, do some dirty work too. Oskar told Mojo he had to stay out of sight for a while cause he killed two people in LA and the cops there would find out soon he went back to New York. He knew one of his victims had a sister who's a cop. Then Mojo said he knew a couple of good hideouts if he needed any but Oskar said he had it all figured out. He never said what just that the fewer people knew about it the better."

"Did he ever say why he killed those two people?" McCall wanted to know.

"The first one 'knew too much' and the girl was a witness to that murder."

"That guy doesn't like loose ends," Mel remarked.

"Right," McCall answered.

"Anything more you overheard?"

"No, that's when they found out I was listening in on them and he made the threat."

"Okay, now I want you to write down everything you just told us. That makes it official," McCall explained and handed her a pen and some paper. Then she and Mel left the room.

"That was helpful, now we have something to work with," Mel said to her.

"Yeah. I do believe this is all she knows though."

"I agree."

"Now how about the protection we promised."

"We have a safe house on the other side of town. I arranged for her to stay there until we catch Mr. Jackson and she can testify."

"Good, shall I tell her?"

"Okay, I'll give the guys a call that we're on our way as soon as she's done."

While Mel made the call and McCall was explaining the next steps to Sheena outside Mojo was taking position. He took a shotgun out of the trunk of his car and waited. When McCall and Sheena stepped out of the room Mel joined them.

"I send a black and white to your house to pick up some of your things."

"Thank you."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess."

They walked out of the building to the car, Mojo saw them coming out the door and took aim. All he needed was a clear shot and for a second he got it, he fired. Just as Mel wanted to open the door to the car the sound of the shot rang through her ears and Sheena collapsed.

"Mel get down!" McCall yelled at her.

She threw herself on the ground still trying to look where the shot came from but neither of them saw what happened. When McCall checked on Sheena she noticed that she was dead, shot in the head.

Mojo was watching from his car and saw the two officers didn't have a clue where the shot had come from.

"Damn!" McCall slammed her fists on the roof of the car in frustration.

"This guy is unbelievable," Mel remarked.

"He's gonna make a mistake sooner or later and I'll make sure I'm there when he does," McCall said sharply.

Later that day McCall wrote Hunter an email to tell him about the day,

'It's frustrating you know, Jackson is always one step ahead of us. At least Sheena have us a statement we can work with. I miss you terribly. I love you, Dee Dee.'

The next few weeks Mel and McCall worked hard to get closer to Oskar Jackson and Mojo but the leads went dead or so it seemed.


	3. March

March 

In the four weeks McCall had been in New York she made a lot of new friends but not a lot of progress on the case.

One evening McCall went down to the basement to so some laundry and met one of the neighbors.

"You are the lady from LA that's staying with Miss Baxter right?"

"That's right."

"Are you with the police too?"

"Yes I am."

"I've been hearing strange noises from the storage area from time to time. Might be nothing but rats but would you mind taking a look?"

"Not at all. Would you show me the way?"

The lady brought her to the other side of the basement and McCall checked every door. One of them opened easily, the light from the hallway was just enough to see that someone had been camping there.

"Looks like a bum found himself a nice place to stay. I'll ask the manager to repair the door so he won't get in anymore." McCall said walking back to the lady.

"Thank you very much officer."

McCall smiled, "No thank you for bringing it to my attention."

She went back to her laundry.

Meanwhile Oskar had returned but saw the light in the laundry room so he stayed outside until it went out. Then he slipped into the basement to the storage room.

After McCall reported the door to the manager she went up to the apartment and forgot all about it.

A couple of days later something unexpected happened. A message came in from a patrol car, a body had been found, the body of Mojo.

When McCall and Mel arrived at the scene a crowd had gathered to see what was going on. Uniformed officers were keeping them at a distance.

"Is it always this crowded?" McCall asked Mel.

"Usually, sometimes it's even busier."

McCall shook her head, "Some people will do anything for a thrill."

"Hey that's New York too."

They walked up to one of the officers standing with the body.

"Hi Dave, what have we got here," Mel asked him.

"Hi Mel, Dee Dee, looks like your Mr. Jackson didn't need his services anymore. He was shot at close range."

"Hmm. We'll ask around if anyone heard or saw anything," Mel said and looked at McCall.

"Let's do it."

The residents in the building where Mojo was found next to weren't very cooperative, most of them hadn't seen or heard anything. Some of them didn't even want to talk to them and the ones that weren't home got a card in the door asking to give one of them a call.

With very little result they returned to the station where the desk sergeant called out to Mel that she had some messages. She went through them on the way up,

"One from Dave, he wants me to call back. One from my garage, they are finally done with my car. Oh this is interesting, a woman named KatieG called about a shooting she witnessed. That might be the break we need."

"Great, why don't I give her a call and you can call Dave, he's probably after a date." McCall said with a devilish grin on her face.

Mel and Dave had been seeing a lot of each other the last few weeks. McCall had been watching this evolve with amusement, they were absolutely made for each other but it also made her feel more homesick, missing Hunter.

"Okay," Mel said with a blush on her cheeks.

"He asked me to dinner tonight." Mel said after she hung up the phone.

"Do you mind?"

"No, have a good time. Barry and his wife asked me to dinner the other day so I'm going over there."

"I still feel a little guilty about it."

"Please don't, just have a good time."

"Thanks. How did you go with our witness?"

" She said she heard a popping sound at around five this morning, when she looked out of the window a black man was running from the scene."

"Could that be our Mr. Jackson?"

"It could be. She's coming over here now to look at some photo's."

Half an hour later a young woman walked into the squad room,

"Hi, I'm looking for Sgt. McCall."

"I'm Sgt. McCall," she said and walked up to her.

"Hi, I'm Katie."

"Hi Katie. You think you saw this guy good enough to pick him out of a photo lineup?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Mel spread ten photos out on the table,

"Take a good look, take your time."

Katie looked at them carefully, "Number six, I'm sure about it. That's the man I saw."

McCall and Mel looked at each other and Mel nodded,

"Thank you for your help Katie. If we need you again can we contact you?" McCall asked.

"Sure, I'll be glad to help get this guy of the streets."

"Okay, that's all then. Thank you for coming."

Katie left and McCall turned to Mel,

"Looks like he's getting rid of his witnesses one by one."

"Sure looks like it, who's next."

"Believe me I don't want to think about that. Maybe it's a good idea to ask for some extra surveillance around Katie's building."

"Good idea, I'll discuss it with the Captain."

Mel left and McCall sat down at her desk to start on the report.

Only two blocks away Oskar Jackson was planning his next move. He wants to get out of New York but two bad elements are blocking his way out, Sgt. McCall and Sgt. Baxter.

The plan he put together just couldn't fail, the only thing he had to do was wait for the right moment. That moment came two weeks later.

Mel and McCall were making a habit of going home early the last few weeks. When they pulled up in front of the building Oskar Jackson was waiting for them.

McCall was the first one out of the car and walked towards the door when Mel called out to her,

"Hey Dee Dee, would you get the mail out of the mailbox for me?"

"Sure, toss me the keys."

Mel threw them to her and she entered the building, that's when the shots started. She drew her gun and rushed to the door.

McCall had just gotten the mail out of the box when a bullet came flying past her smashing into the wall. She dove to the floor and pulled her gun out of her purse. The shots started again, now she could see where they were coming from, the entrance to the basement.

A lady appeared at the top of the stairs wanting to see what was going on,

"Get back to your apartment and call the police!" McCall yelled.

The lady did as she was told.

Moving carefully over the ground McCall went towards where the shots were coming from and found a hiding place behind a small wall. Suddenly it went quiet, McCall could hear the shooter reload and motioned for Mel to come in quickly. She opened the door, kept as low as possible and entered. At that moment a shot was fired and she went down holding on to her shoulder.

"Mel are you okay!" McCall yelled.

"I'm okay," she answered but was able to let McCall see she was bleeding.

'It's Jackson' she mouthed to her.

"Give it up Jackson, you have nowhere to go." McCall called out to him.

He answered with another round of shots and when they stopped she heard footsteps going down into the basement.

"I'm going after him, will you be okay?" she asked Mel.

"I'll be fine, be careful."

Very carefully McCall left her hiding place and followed Jackson down into the basement. When she looked around the wall to see where he had gone another shot was fired, she pulled back just in time. The direction of where the shot had come from told her he was heading for the storage area, that's when she put two and two together.

'It was Jackson hiding in that room all along. He knew that was the last place we'd look for him.'

McCall took another peek around the wall and when it stayed quiet she rushed to the laundry room on the other side of the stairs.

"Give it up Jackson, the place is surrounded!" she yelled, but no answer.

Staying low to the ground and close to the wall she left the laundry room into the storage area. Without any bullets flying over her head McCall reached the storage room where Jackson had been hiding. When she looked around the door she saw him trying to get out through the window.

"Freeze police! Drop your weapon and turn around slowly."

Jackson turned around aiming his gun at her but McCall beat him to it and fired hitting him in the chest. He dropped to the floor still holding his gun and lay there motionless. Carefully she approached him to make sure he was either unconscious or dead. Just as she wanted to kick his gun away from him his eyes opened, he aimed and shot twice, hitting McCall in the shoulder and the abdomen. She dropped to the floor.

"Strike three, you're out." were his last words.

Mel was sitting against the wall in the upstairs hall and noticed it had gone very quiet,

"Dee Dee!" she yelled but got no answer.

Outside three police cars pulled up, Dave came rushing out of one of them into the building and found Mel sitting there bleeding.

"Are you okay?" he asked worried when he had kneeled down next to her.

"I'll live. Go down to the storage area, Dee Dee's there with that Jackson character we've been chasing. I have a bad feeling."

"I will. Sam call an ambulance will you." he asked a uniformed cop who had joined them.

"Sure Sgt."

Dave took out his gun and went down the stairs scanning his surroundings. When he turned the corner into the storage area he could see someone lying in the doorway. As he came closer he saw it was McCall. Quickly he checked her vitals, weak but still alive, then he checked Jackson, he was dead.

Mel had followed him down,

"Oh my god, Dee Dee."

She kneeled besides her and looked at Dave, horror written all over her face.

Ten in the evening and Hunter had fallen asleep in front of the TV when the phone woke him,

"Hello," he said with a sleepy voice.

As the person on the other side of the line told the story he felt the blood drain from his face.

"I'll be there as fast as I can."

Numb and in a state of shock he called Charlie,

"Charlie? I gotta go to New York, McCall's been shot and is in hospital in critical condition. Yeah I'll give you a call as soon as I can."

He grabbed some stuff together after he hung up and left for the airport. Less than two hours later he was in the air staring out of the window thinking of McCall.

"First time in New York?" a friendly voice said next to him.

The "No," that followed didn't sound very friendly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I always get a bit nervous on a plane and talking helps."

"I should be the one to apologize," Hunter said with a sigh.

"I'm going to see my fiancée, she's in hospital."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is she sick?"

"Yeah she is," Hunter said not revealing the whole truth.

"BTW I'm Jim Gordon."

"Nice to meet you Jim. I'm Rick Hunter. What takes you to New York." he asked trying to make conversation and forget about his worries for a while.

"Some new contacts I made on a office appliances salesmen convention I attended two months ago. Hopefully I can get some good deals out of it."

Before they knew it they had arrived in New York,

"Hope your fiancée will be better soon," Jim said when they got off the plane.

"Thanks, good luck on your business deal."

They each went their separate way.

Hunter went outside looking for a cab to take him to the hospital.

During the drive over there he called Mel to tell her he was on his way. She told him McCall was now stable.

When he arrived Mel and Dave were waiting for him in the hall, together they went up.

"The doctor wants to talk with you before you see her," Mel told him.

"Okay. What happened to you?" Hunter motioned at her arm.

"Jackson took a shot at me, it's only a graze."

"What happened to Jackson?"

"He's dead."

The elevator doors opened and the three of them got off. Hunter reported himself at the nurses station and joined Mel and Dave in the waiting room. Not long after the doctor walked in,

"Mr.Hunter?"

"That's me," he said as he stood up.

"Would you like to come with me to my office?"

"Sure." he said looking at Mel for a second.

"Go, we'll hear about it later," she said.

In the doctor's office Hunter sat down, the doctor sat down behind his desk,

"My name is Dr. McBride and I've been treating your fiancée."

"How is she?"

"Under the circumstances she's doing fine. She's a very lucky lady, the bullet that hit her in the abdomen missed the vital organs and left her body through her back. It did produce some swelling near her spinal cord but we won't know if she lost any sensation due to that until she wakes up."

Hunter let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair.

"There was one other thing, the bullet did penetrate her uterus and when I operated her to fix that I found out she was pregnant. We couldn't save it, I'm sorry."

Hunter looked at Dr. McBride in disbelief,

"Pregnant?"

"You didn't know about it?"

"No, how far along was she."

"About eight or nine weeks."

The news left Hunter in a state of shock.

"She probably didn't know herself otherwise she would have told me. Can she…

"I don't see a reason why you can't have children." Dr. McBride answered.

"Would you like to see her?"

"Yeah, I would," Hunter said still in a state of shock and disbelief about what he had just been told.

Dr. McBride took him to her room and left. Hunter walked up to the bed, looked at her for a moment and stroked her cheek. She looked so pale and fragile but very beautiful. He knew it would break her heart if she knew about the baby but he also knew she had to know and that they both had to give it a place in their lives. Carefully he took her hand,

"I'm here sweetie, you are gonna be fine."

Then he remembered Mel and Dave were waiting for some news,

"I'll be right back," he told McCall and went to the waiting room.

"What did the doctor have to say?" Mel wanted to know.

"He told me she was lucky the bullet passed through her without damaging any vital organs, she has some swelling around her spinal cord but that's temporary. She's gonna be fine."

Mel let out a sigh of relief and Dave put his arm around her.

"That's good news," he said.

"It is but there's something else. The bullet penetrated her uterus and when they operated to fix that they found out she was about eight weeks pregnant."

"What!" Mel almost fell out of her chair in surprise.

"That's what I thought."

"She never said anything Rick."

"I don't think she even knew."

Mel looked at him closely,

"The baby didn't make it right?" she said softly.

"No, it never had a chance," he replied his eyes filling with tears.

"I'm sorry Rick," Mel reached out and took his hands.

"How am I gonna tell her, she'll be devastated."

"When the time comes to tell her you'll find the right words."

"You always know exactly what to say," he said and smiled.

"Go be with her, she needs you."

"I will. You get some rest you look tired."

"I am. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay, take care of her will you Dave?

"No problem, you take care too."

"Thanks."

Before going back to McCall Hunter gave Charlie a call to tell him how she was doing,

"She's a survivor Hunter, she will make it."

Hunter went back to her room, sat down and held her hand in both his hands placing a gentle kiss on it,

"I love you honey. Please wake up," he whispered.

During the evening the night nurse dropped in regularly to check on her, she had tried to persuade Hunter to get some rest but he wouldn't. At around one in the morning she found him asleep in the chair and covered him with a blanket.

It was around eight the next morning when Hunter woke up feeling sore and stiff. He looked at McCall and saw two brown eyes staring back at him.

"Hi," her voice was soft and weak.

"Hi yourself." a groan followed when he tried to straighten himself out in the chair.

Once he did he took her hand,

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, my back and stomach hurt and my legs feel like they are asleep. All needles and pins."

"The doctor told me the bullet left your body through your back. It's swollen and they didn't know whether you could feel at all, so this is good."

A smile appeared on her lips, then her face changed in a more serious expression. He looked back at her questioningly.

"I'm glad you're here, I missed you so much."

"You don't know how much I missed you."

At that moment the nurse walked in to check on her,

"Oh you are awake. I'll tell Dr. McBride and he'll come to take a look."

and she left.

"I'll be back in a minute, gotta go to the bathroom." Hunter said with a grin and left the room too to see if he could talk to Dr. McBride before he saw McCall.

When he stepped out of the room Dr. McBride came walking down the hall,

"Good morning, I heard she's awake."

"Yeah she is. I haven't had a chance to tell her about the baby yet."

"Do you like me to do that?"

For a second his head thought about leaving it to the doctor but his heart told him no,

"No. I want to tell her."

Dr. McBride examined her thoroughly and was pleased with the result,

"You are gonna be fine, the medication is bringing the swelling down nicely so this feeling in your legs will be over soon. I'll leave you two, you've got a lot to talk about."

"Do we?" McCall said to Hunter after the doctor had left.

"What."

"Have a lot to talk about?"

Hunter knew he had been found out, there were no hiding things from McCall.

"Yeah we do."

She looked at him expectantly, "Well?"

Hunter ran his hand through his hair and took her hand,

"Dee Dee, they had to operate on you cause the bullet went through your uterus."

The look on Hunters face while he told her this worried McCall, she hadn't seen him like this very often but it told her there was something serious going on.

"That's when they found out you were pregnant."

"Pregnant?"

"About eight weeks. They did everything possible but couldn't save the baby."

Her brown eyes filled with tears,

"I never knew. I was still having my period and everything or maybe I just didn't pay attention to my body. We were so caught up in this case."

The words fell out of her mouth while tears were streaming down her face. Hunter couldn't hide his grief anymore either and cried with her,

"It's not your fault," he said softly.

"Why Rick, why me, why us!"

"I wish I knew, but I don't," he said with desperation in his voice.

"I'm sorry," he stood up and walked out of the room leaving a stunned McCall who didn't know how to respond.

Hunter left the building and found a bench in the small hospital garden. He had never felt so full of emotion and empty at the same time. Leaving the room and McCall like that wasn't right, he knew, but he had to. He sighed and placed his head in his hands, giving this a place was gonna be hard.

Half an hour later Hunter returned to her room and stood in the doorway watching her. McCall was sitting up and staring out the window. She tried to come up with an answer to her question but couldn't.

Hunter saw her staring out the window, hurt written all over her face, her eyes still red and puffy from crying. It broke his heart, he almost wanted to turn around and leave again but didn't. He stepped back into the room.

McCall heard someone enter and turned her head to where the sound was coming from. Their eyes met but neither one was saying anything.

"I'm sorry," Hunter finally said softly.

"Can I… I mean can we still have children?" she asked hesitantly.

"We can."

She let out a sigh of relief and a little piece of this load was taken off of her.


	4. April

April

After a two week stay at the hospital McCall was well enough to be released. She was glad to get out of bed and away from the horrible food. Hunter had made arrangements for them to return to LA as soon as possible but McCall had other plans,

"What do you mean you won't be coming back with me?"

Hunter couldn't believe what she had just told him.

"I had a long talk with Charlie and he agreed on a temporary transfer."

"When did this happen?"

"A couple of days ago. I had plenty of time to think and came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to spend some time away from each other."

Hunter's chin dropped, "You want us to split up?"

"Yeah, for a while anyway. I need to sort myself out and get my head straight."

"I don't understand, If this is about the baby that's my loss too. I need you, I need your help to get through this."

Hunter stood up and paced around the hotel room they were staying in,

"You'll be okay Rick, I know. If you really love me like you say you do you'll let me do this."

"That's not fair Dee Dee, you know I love you no matter what. I just don't understand why you have to shut me out like this."

"I hope you will someday Rick. I just can't explain this feeling any better."

"Where are you gonna stay?"

"I can move into an apartment by the end of this week. Until then I'm gonna stay with Mel, she's coming to pick me up at five."

"Everything has been arranged, all you had to do was tell me,"

Hunter's disbelief was growing by the minute.

"I can't believe this," he sat down on the bed feeling defeated.

Mel was right on time and brought the luggage to the car while McCall said goodbye to Hunter,

"One thing Dee Dee, you can always count on me. I love you."

"Thanks Rick, I'll remember that," she gave him a quick kiss and a long hug.

She got into the car and they drove off.

"Are you okay?" Mel asked her while they were driving to her apartment.

"Not really," McCall answered and looked down at her hands.

That's when she noticed the ring, her engagement ring. She forgot to give it back to Hunter like she planned.

'Maybe I'm supposed to hang on to it,' she thought.

At the hotel Hunter didn't know what to do, he felt confused and sad. He had to deal with his grief by himself.

After almost no sleep that night he left for the airport early. Four times he walked to the phones in the departure lounge to call her but didn't dare. Instead he decided to make good use of the time on the plane and write McCall a letter.

McCall had a rough night herself. She couldn't fall asleep and when she did doze off an unpleasant dream woke her again. A look at the clock told her it was seven thirty, Hunter would be at the airport by now flying home in about an hour.

Kitchen sounds snapped her out of her thoughts, she decided to get out of bed and join Mel for breakfast.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" she asked.

"Terrible," McCall sighed.

"Having second thoughts about your decision?"

"No, I'm pretty sure about that. I just had a hard time explaining it to Rick. He doesn't understand and I can't make it any clearer for him."

"To be honest I don't understand either but you seem to know what you are doing."

"Thanks Mel," McCall said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

"You could have stayed here you know instead of finding you own place."

"I know but I would be in the way of you and Dave at some point. Besides It's only down the hall."

Mel smiled, "You are right. I gotta go, I'm late as it is. See you later."

"Yeah, later."

After Mel had left her mind wandered off again thinking of Hunter and if she was doing the right thing.

She spend the morning trying to keep herself busy, doing the dishes, vacuum and laundry. When Mel got home around lunchtime to see if McCall wanted to go out for lunch she found her sleeping on the couch.

As if she knew someone was in the room with her McCall woke up,

"How long have I been asleep? What time is it?" she asked groggy.

"It's lunchtime and I came home to see if you wanted to go out for lunch but you were sleeping."

"I couldn't keep my eyes open after I sat down. I cleaned up a bit."

Mel looked around, "A bit! No wonder you were tired. Remember what the doctor told you, ease into it."

"Yes mom," McCall wanted to sit up but her body protested, she managed with a little help from Mel.

"See what I mean."

"Yeah, say it. I told you so. Now how about that lunch?"

The rest of the week McCall took every day as it came, step by step getting stronger. At the end of the week she got the keys to her own apartment. Mel and Dave helped her clean, paint and decorate it. By Sunday McCall had moved in and surprised her helpers with a nice dinner.

"It's a good thing you're only down the hall, I'm gonna miss having you around,"

Mel told her when she showed them out.

"And that goes for me too," Dave pitched in.

"I'm gonna miss you two as well but on the other hand it's good to have a place of my own."

She watched them until they turned the corner and closed the door.

The next morning Mel gave her a ride to work,

"So how did it feel the first night in you own apartment."

"Pretty good. I woke up at three, had to go to the bathroom and had no trouble sleeping after that."

"Good to hear. Ready for some police work then?" Mel said as she parked the car in front of the building.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good to have you back," colleagues said as they entered the squad room.

"The Captain wants to see you," Barry said to McCall.

She went to his office and knocked on the door before entering,

"Ah, Sgt. McCall. Sit down."

She sat down across from Captain Brown.

"How are you?"

"Feeling good enough to start work again," she answered.

"That's good to hear. If you don't mind you'll be doing some light stuff this week, just to ease you back into it again."

"I don't mind, thank you."

"That's all."

Back at her desk Mel was waiting,

"Just in and we have a call already. A domestic."

"And the boss said light stuff to ease me back into it," McCall remarked knowing a domestic usually wasn't easy and could be a lot of trouble.

They arrived at the building and got out of the car. A loud scream came out of an open window on the third floor. As quick as they could Mel and McCall went up the stairs, into the hallway and stopped in front of the door. Mel banged on it,

"Police open up!"

The door opened slightly but enough for the person inside to see the badges.

"Go away, there's nothing going on in here," an obviously frightened voice said.

"We can't do that. We heard a scream coming from your apartment so we have to check it out and make sure everyone is okay."

The woman behind the door opened it a little more, you could see her bruises clearly now.

"What happened?" McCall asked.

"I ran into a door." she answered.

She was wearing a nightgown with bloody stains on it and when McCall gave her the once over she noticed a little trail of blood running down the woman's right leg.

"Are you sure you are gonna be okay?" Mel asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Okay, thanks for your time."

The door closed and they walked away to the end of the hallway where McCall stopped,

"It's not okay, did you notice her nightgown?" McCall said to Mel, anger building inside her.

"And the blood running down her leg? This isn't just abuse, I bet she was raped too."

"I did notice. But if she doesn't let us in and talk to us there's not much we can do."

McCall went back to the apartment and slid her card under the door,

"Maybe it helps," she said to Mel as she returned.

Back at the station McCall sat behind her computer to start the report on the domestic when her mind wandered to her own rape several years ago.

The fear, the pain, it all came back to her. But also a feeling of protection from the people around her especially Hunter.

A woman's' voice snapped her out of her thoughts,

"Sgt. McCall?"

She looked up and saw the black and blue face of the woman that closed the door on them earlier that morning.

Before McCall had time to answer the woman dropped to the ground,

"Barry call an ambulance!" she shouted as she jumped out of her chair.

The ambulance pulled into the ER ambulance bay, a couple of people were waiting for them with a gurney and rushed the woman inside. Mel and McCall had followed in their car and went in as well.

During the examination they filled out the necessary forms.

"Did you find any ID on her?" McCall asked one of the paramedics that brought her in.

"No, sorry."

Mel looked at her,

"Neither did I. She didn't have a purse or anything with her," McCall explained.

"Great," Mel sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"We can wait for her to wake up and tell us what happened or we could pay her boyfriend a visit," McCall suggested.

"Yeah, we could."

A short time later they were standing at the front door of the apartment again. Mel knocked,

"Hello, anyone home?"

Silence.

Another knock, "Hello!"

"I don't hear anyone in there," McCall said to Mel.

"Neither do I."

Mel turned the doorknob to check if it was locked, it wasn't. Carefully she opened the door and they entered.

The living room was a mess, chairs lying all over the place, broken glass on the floor, other furniture on it's side or turned upside down. The rest of the rooms, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom looked the same.

The woman's boyfriend was nowhere to be found and it looked like he had left in a hurry. In the bedroom wardrobe it was obvious there were clothes missing.

Mel found the woman's ID, now there was a name: Jane Summers.

"Let's do a canvas, maybe the neighbors can tell us some more about this boyfriend." Mel said holding a picture of Jane and a man she had found.

"Sure I know these people. That's Jane and her boyfriend Lenny." their neighbor told Mel.

"Does Lenny have a last name?" Mel wanted to know.

"Donalds, Lenny Donalds. Is this about the fight they had?"

"What can you tell me about that?"

"It was a bad one, I mean they fought before but this. First it was just yelling and slamming doors. I heard some glass work break and then I heard Jane cry out "No stop." That's when you showed up."

"What happened after we left?"

"He beat her up again. She must have waited until he went to the bathroom or something. She left in a hurry not even taking her purse."

"When did he leave?"

"About 45 minutes later, he was in a hurry too."

"Any idea where he might have gone?"

"His brother's got an apartment at fifth, you could try there."

"Thanks for your help."

Back in the car Mel noticed the tired look on McCall's face,

"I'll ask Mike and Barry to check this out. I think you've had enough for one day."

"You are starting to sound like a certain partner I had." McCall smiled.

"Heard anything from him lately?"

"No I haven't."

"I'll drop you off home okay?"

"Thanks."

Before going up McCall emptied the mailbox. She didn't look at it until she was in her apartment, a couple of bills already, a local newspaper and an envelope. The writing looked familiar and she knew in an instant who it was from, Hunter.

She st down on the couch and opened it. Besides a letter there was a picture of the both of them taken the day before she had left for New York. Tears started to well in her eyes looking at it and a mixture of feelings she was so desperately trying to hide surfaced. Then she opened the letter:

My dearest Dee Dee,

You know I'm not so good with words and expressing how I feel but I gave it a try anyway.

I hope you are finding what you are looking for right now. It's still hard for me to understand but I'm trying. I miss you terribly.

Charlie has teamed me up with Brad for the time being and Kitty has the honor of breaking in a new one, she's hating it.

Don't hate me for sending you our last picture together.

Take care of yourself, I love you.

Rick.

There was no way she could stop her tears from falling now.

"Dee Dee are you okay?"

She didn't know for how long she had slept but Mel's voice woke her. She had used her key to let herself in when McCall hadn't answered the door. Without saying anything she handed Mel the letter.

"I thought I could do this," the words staggering out of her mouth.

"I do love him."

"Why don't you go back, I can handle things here."

McCall shook her head stubbornly, "No, not yet."


	5. May

May

The cold New York winter was turning into spring. It made living there a lot easier for McCall, she was really missing the warm Californian weather.

The domestic case she and Mel were working on got stuck. Mike and Barry had checked out the brother's apartment but found no evidence Lenny had been there. His brother told them he hadn't seen him for a long time.

Jane was still unconscious. The doctor had examined her thoroughly and told them she had several broken ribs, a concussion, plenty of bruises and like, McCall thought, had been raped.

Lenny Donalds's name, description and photo was now known all over the country.

One morning Mel and McCall were sitting at their desks doing some paperwork,

"Did you send Hunter a reply yet?"

"I send him an email but he hasn't responded."

At that moment Mel's phone rang,

"Sgt. Baxter. Oh hi how are you? I'm fine. You are kidding,"

McCall looked at Mel questioningly,

"Hang on a sec."

She turned to McCall,

"Lenny Donalds has been arrested."

"Great, where?"

"Later. Yeah I'm still here, okay I'll be looking forward to that, bye." Mel put the phone down.

" Well?" McCall said anxiously.

"That was the good news, the bad news is he was arrested in LA. That was Rick on the phone."

McCall's face changed and she leaned back in her chair,

"Is he gonna be extradited?"

"Yes and we're gonna have to pick him up."

The computer on McCall's desk gave a warning sound for a new email coming in,

'Can I call you tonight, Rick.' it read.

"Now he's asking me if he can call me tonight," she sighed.

"Talk to him Dee Dee," was all Mel said about it.

"I will," so she send him her phone number.

McCall's phone rang and she picked it up hesitantly, "McCall."

Mel saw her relax, it wasn't Hunter calling.

"Okay thanks, we'll be there later," she said and hung up.

"Jane's awake, that was the hospital. We can talk to her."

They grabbed their coats and purses and left for the hospital.

Jane didn't have much to tell them, due to her concussion she hardly remembered anything,

"It's all so blurry," she said.

"I remember Lenny yelling and that I was yelling back. You two arriving at the door and Lenny completely freaking out over that. He went into the bedroom and that's when I ran. The next thing is waking up here."

"You don't remember being beaten by Lenny?" McCall asked her.

"No," Jane said softly. "I'm sorry I can't be of any more help to you."

"It's still early days, most of it will come back to you in time," the doctor, who was also in the room, reassured her.

"I don't know if I want to remember," Jane answered.

"It will be hard but it's gonna put Lenny away for a long time," Mel told her, McCall nodded in agreement.

"Have you arrested him?" she wanted to know.

"We know he fled to California and the LAPD arrested him yesterday," Mel explained.

"It's gonna take us a couple of days to get him here. I hope you can remember some more by then."

"I'll try,"

"You don't have to come with me to LA you know," Mel said to McCall on their way back to the station.

"I know but I'm gonna make that decision after I talk to Rick."

The computer screen on her desk told McCall she had a new email. It was from Hunter writing that Charlie had been badly injured in a shoot out and was in hospital in critical condition. Mel noticed her face turn white as a sheet,

"What's wrong?"

McCall turned the screen so Mel could read the email,

"Oh my god."

"I think the decision has been made for me," she said softly.

The next morning Mel and McCall were on a plane to LA.

"Did you talk to Rick last night?" Mel asked her.

"Yeah, he wanted to know if I was coming. I could tell he was glad to hear that I was."

"How is your boss doing?"

"Still the same. Some guy came into the squad room yelling and waving a gun. The police was gonna pay for what they did to him and his family. He started shooting, Charlie couldn't take cover in time and got hit. Brad was able to shoot the guy."

A couple of hours later they landed at LA airport. After gathering their luggage and going through customs they headed to where their ride was waiting for them.

Hunter was feeling nervous, it had been a long time since he'd seen McCall. A very long time.

Mel and McCall walked into the big arrivals hall and it wasn't long before she spotted his tall frame towering above the rest of the people there. The sight of him shocked her, he looked tired. Dark circles under his eyes and if you looked carefully you could see he had lost weight.

Their eyes met only for a second but it seemed like an eternity. She looked even more beautiful then the last time he saw her. He found himself breathing rapidly and felt his heart pounding.

Mel's hand on her shoulder broke the gaze,

"Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so."

They walked towards him,

"Hi Rick, good to see you," Mel said to him.

"Hi, how was your flight?"

"Fine."

After loading the luggage into the car they got in and headed for the precinct. The tension in the car was thick, Mel decided to make some conversation,

"How is your Captain doing?"

"Better, he woke up about an hour ago. The doctor said he's going to make a full recovery."

"That's good to hear, why don't you just drop me off so you two can go see him," she looked at McCall who wasn't pleased but nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Hunter said hesitantly.

Not long after it was just the two of them in the car,

"How have you been?" Hunter broke the tense silence.

"Good and you?"

"Good."

Silence again.

Hunter pulled the car over and turned off the engine.

"What are you doing, this isn't the hospital?" McCall looked at him in surprise.

"I know, I can't do two things at the same time," he said and looked her straight in the eye.

"I really miss you Dee Dee and it hurts. It's on my mind constantly and I can't figure out what it is that made you make a decision like this."

"I was following my heart Rick, I can't explain it otherwise. Seeing you at the airport made me realize I miss you a lot. I don't know if I'm ready to come home yet, give me some time, please."

"All the time you need."

A faint smile played he lips, "Now can we go see Charlie?"

The nurse showed them the room Charlie was in, "Not too long," she warned.

Charlie opened his eyes when he heard the door, "McCall?"

"Hi Charlie, how are you?"

"Felt better but they say I'll live. Are you back to stay?"

"Can't say yet."

"That's an honest answer."

"Mel and I are here to pick up a prisoner and take him back to New York."

"I know, Hunter told me about it."

The nurse came in telling them visiting time was really over now, "Mr. Devane needs his rest."

"Promise you'll drop by before you leave," he said to McCall.

"I will."

"Wanna have something to eat?" Hunter asked her as they walked back to the car.

"I should really help Mel with our prisoner but we could have a chilidog on the way."

"You're on."

Five minutes later they were enjoying their snack in the car,

"So Lenny is in a lot more trouble then I arrested him for." Hunter said between bites.

"What did you arrest him for anyway?" McCall wanted to know.

"Shoplifting. Remember that little supermarket where I always do my shopping?"

She nodded.

"I was picking up some groceries when I saw him put a can of beans in his pocket. Turned out he had enough food in all of his pockets to feed an orphanage. When I ran him through the computer your APB came up."

"Stupid move."

"The need for food can do strange things to people," Hunter said and took a bite from his chilidog.

Back at the precinct Mel had already talked to Lenny Donalds,

"I explained to him why he's being extradited. He denies he ever laid a finger on her, let alone rape her."

McCall sighed and sat down on the edge of the desk, "And his DNA?"

"Wouldn't give us any but we have enough to take him with us and hold him for a while."

"How long before we leave?"

"Somewhere tomorrow. Now all we need is a place to stay the night."

"You can stay with me if you want." Hunter suggested.

"What do you think?" Mel asked McCall.

"Fine with me, beats a motel."

At the end of the day they arrived at Hunter's beach side house,

"What a great place to live," Mel's reaction made Hunter smile.

"It's better than a small apartment on the third floor." he quipped.

"You were right Dee Dee, this sure beats a motel."

Later McCall was sitting on the small stairs leading from the deck to the beach watching Mel taking a swim. Hunter was busy firering up the BBQ.

"I have to go back tomorrow," she said looking straight ahead.

"I have to finish this case. It's important to me."

"I understand."

She looked at him wondering what it was she had done to deserve a man like this. Mel snapped her out of her thoughts,

"Why don't you join me, the water is great."

"Yeah go in, these steaks will take a while before they are ready," Hunter pitched in.

"Okay, I'm coming."

"You sure know your way around a BBQ, these steaks are great," Mel had just swallowed the last piece on her plate.

"I can't eat another thing or I'll burst," McCall leaned back in her chair, he hand on her stomach.

"Thank you ladies, it's a good thing I forgot to buy desert," he said with a grin.

"Can I interest the ladies in a cup of coffee then?"

"Yeah," they said simultaneously.

The clock told McCall it was ten past eleven,

"I think I'm gonna turn in, busy day ahead tomorrow."

"I'll sleep on the couch so you two can fight over the spare room and my bedroom." Hunter said.

"I'll take the spare room," Mel answered.

"Well that leaves Rick's room for me then," McCall sighed.

As she was sitting on the edge of the bed a lot of memories came flashing back to her. Times she had spend there taking care of him or he taking care of her. And the nights they had spend loving each other.

Hunter was lying on the couch thinking about the woman he loves, having her so close and not being able to be with her.

For the both of them sleep didn't come easy. In the middle of the night Hunter woke up, he had to go to the bathroom. On his way back he sneaked into his bedroom and watched McCall sleep for a while before going back to the couch.

It was just after eight in the morning when McCall was woken by strange sounds. She got out of bed and ran into a sleepy Mel in the hallway,

"Is he always so active this early?" she wanted to know.

"Never."

They went down and as they entered the living room Hunter was just coming out of the kitchen,

"Did I wake you?" he asked when he noticed them standing there.

"You sure did," Mel answered.

"Well you better get dressed then, breakfast will be ready in a minute."

Two showers later they were all sitting at the table eating.

"What time does the flight leave?" Hunter asked.

"Three thirty." Mel answered him.

"If you want to I can take you to the airport."

"I was kinda hoping you would."

"Can I borrow your car this morning," McCall asked Hunter.

"Sure, if you drop us off at the precinct first."

"No problem."

"Where are you going." Mel asked before taking another bite.

"I promised Charlie I'd come by before we left."

"I can go with you," Hunter offered.

"No, I want to go alone," she told him and turned to Mel,

"Can you handle the paperwork?"

"I can but you owe me one."

After dropping Mel and Hunter off as promised McCall drove to the hospital. She explained to the nurse why she wanted to see Charlie outside of visiting hours,

"Okay, but not too long."

Charlie was happy to see her,

"So you are going back to New York."

"I really want to finish up this case, it's important to me."

"And after...?"

"I don't know."

"I've never seen him so sad as the last month Dee Dee. He's had a really hard time. Everyone in the department suffered cause of his moods. He really loves you."

"When I saw him at the airport yesterday I realized how much I've missed him. My love for him is stronger now. It was the way he looked that really scared me, he looks like he's lost weight."

"I warned him. He's been living at the precinct, not eating right. Drowning himself in work."

"Charlie, I'm coming back. I just don't know when. But there's a part of me that says he deserves better."

"Better? Who can be better for him than you, you keep him on the right track. He respects you, your opinion and most important he listens to you. He needs you Dee Dee, the only thing is he'll never admit it."

She looked at him and sighed, "Why is love so difficult."

"It isn't. You just make it that way. Go and finish your case and please come back."

"Thanks Charlie. I will."

She gently kissed him on the cheek and left.

At the precinct a lot of heads turned as McCall got off the elevator, she ignored them and headed straight for Hunter's desk. He looked up and saw her coming, a look of determination written all over her face. Planting both hands on the desk she leaned forward to look him in the eye,

"I'm going back to New York today to finish this case. It might take a while but when it's done I'll be on the first flight back. I want to make this work, I want to make us work."

Hunter stood up from his chair, enveloped his arms around her and held her tight.

By the end of the morning he drove them to the airport. In his mind Hunter flashed back to the time that he said goodbye to McCall before she left for New York. Now he had to do that all over again.

McCall checked them in while Mel guarded Lenny and talked to Hunter,

"She is coming back you know."

"I know, I'll be waiting."

The speaker announced the passengers could start boarding the plane, Hunter took McCall aside,

"Hunter, my plane."

"This won't take long."

He lifted her up and kissed her passionately, she returned his kiss. He put her down,

"Go now, that plane won't wait."

"Bye." she squeezed his hand before letting go and walking towards the gate.


	6. June

June

The Donalds case was almost coming to an end. Lenny faced charges for assault and rape of his girlfriend. Both Mel and McCall had to give evidence during the trial. Jane was brave and strong enough to testify against him even though she still didn't remember everything that happened.

Everything combined turned out to be enough to put him away for a long time. It didn't take the jury very long to come back with a guilty verdict and the judge sentenced him to 25 years without parole.

A few days later Mel, Dave and McCall went out to celebrate and have a bit of a farewell party. McCall was gonna leave the next day.

Enjoying a nice meal Mel had an announcement for McCall,

"Dave asked me to marry him and I said yes."

"Mel that's' great! I'm so happy for you. Have you set a date yet?"

"We were thinking about August."

"You and Hunter are invited of course," Dave pitched in.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," McCall said to him.

"Have you talked to him today?" Mel wanted to know.

"I called him to tell him what flight I'm gonna be on. And I already said goodbye to the rest at the station house. They gave me a signed NYPD shirt."

"That's nice of them." Mel said trying to keep a straight face.

"Like you didn't know!" McCall answered with a smile.

"I think even Captain Brown was sad to see me go."

At around nine the next morning Mel and Dave drove McCall to the airport. After checking in it was time to say goodbye.

"I'm gonna miss you two but I'm glad to go home," McCall sniffled.

Mel was fighting back her tears too, "We'll see you in August right?"

"Try and keep me away,"

They hugged.

"Give Rick my love."

"I will. Bye Dave take care," McCall gave him a long hug too.

"You too."

Sitting in her seat as the plane took off McCall was feeling sad she was leaving New York and her new friends but the longing for the person waiting for her on the other side of the country was strong.

Hunter had a hard time sleeping that night and got up with the sun. It would be hours before McCall's plane was gonna touch down so he made himself useful by cleaning up his house. They had agreed on her moving in with him, a big step but one they were willing to take.

He couldn't wait for her to come home.

A thick book kept McCall busy during her flight. It was one she had bought in New York on Mel's recommendation but never made the time to start reading it.

"John Grisham, now that's what I call good reading," a voice next to her said.

A voice that sounded awfully familiar. She lowered the book to see the face behind the voice,

"Jim Gordon."

"Dee Dee McCall, how nice to see you again."

"Likewise, another convention?"

"Yeah, they like to keep us salesmen busy. And you, done solving crime in New York?"

"For now. I left it a bit safer."

They both laughed.

"I loved being in New York but I'm glad I'm going home," she said.

"I know how you feel, no place like home."

Talking to Jim made the time fly by, before they knew it the fasten seatbelt sign went on and the plane started it's final approach.

Hunter was already waiting for her.

"Let's meet for lunch sometime," Jim suggested.

"If your fiancée doesn't mind."

"I'd like that and he won't mind," McCall handed Jim her card.

"Here's mine," Jim gave her his.

McCall lost track of him as she went through customs, 'We'll meet again,' she thought.

Hunter wasn't hard to find even though it was pretty crowded in the arrivals hall. Seeing him felt good. McCall could see his face light up as soon as he spotted her. A long hug and kiss followed.

"Welcome home."

"I'm glad to be home."

"New York was great but I really missed this weather," McCall said looking out the window during the drive to Hunter's place.

The sky was grey and it had just started to rain.

"You are kidding, right?" Hunter looked aside for a second.

"No," she answered trying to keep a straight face.

"Oh, we are invited to a wedding in August."

"We are? Who's wedding."

"Mel and Dave's. They told me yesterday."

"That's great news."

Silence fell in the car, McCall looked at her ring and then to Hunter. The look at his face told her a lot,

"Give us some time Rick, let's take it a step at the time."

"I will. I'm glad you are still wearing my ring."

The car pulled into the drive next to Hunter's house, they were home.

"Charlie was released from hospital a few days ago," Hunter handed a cold drink to McCall sitting outside on the deck.

"That's good news, how is he?"

"Fine, It's hard keeping him away from the precinct."

"I bet it is, the squad is his life," she took a sip from her drink.

"I'll be glad when he's back, the replacement Captain reminds me of the good old days with Captain Dolan."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not gonna like this."

"It's playing by the book for now. You know the only thing missing is Bernie Terwilliger giving us a hard time. Thank god."

"I'll drink to that," McCall laughed and raised her glass.

"And to the speedy return of Charlie," Hunter added.

"I'll go and see Charlie tomorrow as well as my Mom. You know she gave me hell over my decision to stay in New York."

"I know, we talked a couple of times. She didn't understand either. I haven't told you this but she was pretty angry with me because I hadn't called her before I left for New York after you were shot. I explained to her that I didn't know how you were and wanted to wait until I knew more."

"How did she react?"

"She said I did the right thing."

"She was worried and so were you,"

McCall reached out her hand to him and he took it.

This gesture from her meant something to him, she had dealt with the ghost that haunted her the last couple of months and was ready to let him back into her life.

By the time Hunter had dinner ready McCall had fallen asleep on the couch, exhausted by the day's events. Carefully he lifted her up and took her to the bedroom.

Knowing it would be an early morning he had a light dinner and turned in himself. He watched her sleep for a while, then he turned the light off, wrapped his arm around her and dozed off.

It was around three in the morning when McCall woke up not realizing at first where she was,

'How did I get into bed?' she wondered.

The fact that she was still wearing her sweat pants made her put two and two together.

'Rick must have put me here, I must have fallen asleep at some point.'

She got out of bed, went to the bathroom, undressed herself and crawled back in.

"Getting to warm for you?" a soft voice said from the other side of the bed.

"A little, did I wake you?"

"A little."

"Will this help to make you sleep?" she gently kissed him.

"It might."

McCall continued her kisses from his mouth down to his neck, his chest and back up again. He let her and felt the tension build in the lower part of his body, if she wanted him she could have him.

When she reached his mouth again a long passionate kiss followed.

Now it was his turn.

Still kissing he rolled her on her back and let his hands disappear under the shirt she was wearing to loosen her bra. It took one smooth move to remove both pieces of clothing. Hunter let his hands do the talking, roaming her perfect body, following the curves of her breasts with his fingers.

McCall let out little moans of pleasure.

Swiftly they removed the rest of their clothing,

"Make love to me Rick," she whispered in his ear, but he decided to tease her a little longer.

The gentle kisses he placed all over her body made her crazy. Finally he granted her wish and took her to an ultimate climax.

McCall placed her head on Hunter's chest enjoying the aftermath of their lovemaking,

"You sure make a girl feel welcome," she joked.

"It was good for me too," he smiled.

"Hmmm."

"You know we could just not go to work tomorrow. What do you think."

No answer.

"Dee Dee?"

Carefully he removed a few curls from her face to expose it and saw she had fallen asleep.

The next morning McCall woke up before the alarm clock would go off and slipped out of bed into the shower. When she was done she put on a robe and went back to the bedroom to pick out her clothes for the day. Once she put on her underwear she looked in the full length mirror on one of the wardrobe doors. The scars from the shooting were very visible.

Hunter had woken up by now and saw her standing there, her hand on her belly.

She seemed far away in her thoughts,

"It will happen someday Dee Dee."

"I hope so."

Right on time they stepped off the elevator into the squad room. Kitty was the first one to greet them,

"Welcome back."

"It's good to be back, thanks."

"The boss wants to see you two," Brad told them.

Hunter knocked on the door of the office,

"Come in."

"You wanted to see us, Sir?"

Captain Smythe looked up, "Yes, so this is your partner Sgt. Hunter."

"Nice to meet you, Sir." McCall put out her hand.

Captain Smythe took it, "Same here Sgt. How are you?"

"Fine. Ready to go to work."

"Good. We are gonna need every person available. There's something brewing in a certain part of this city. Some Juliet ended her relationship with her Romeo and now we have two neighborhoods on the verge of a war."

"What's that got to do with us?" Hunter wanted to know.

"Romeo wounded up dead in an alley. His family is accusing her older brother who didn't like the relationship. He denies that he's got anything to do with the death. The detectives handling the case asked for some help and since you two have a reputation of solving a lot of your cases I thought it would be a nice job for you."

"We'll get right on it," Hunter said after he received the casefile.

"One thing Sgt. Try and prevent these people from bashing each others heads in."

"That wasn't do bad," McCall remarked as she sat down at her desk.

Hunter raised his eyebrows, "Except for the finger. Please try and prevent these people from bashing each others heads in. Like we can stop that from happening."

"Maybe we can by solving this case quickly."

"Yeah right McCall."

"Let's read the casefile first okay."

She took it from him and opened it, "Oh boy, I just found the catch. Take a look at the officer handling the case."

She showed Hunter the file, "Johnny Dunn, just what I need."

"You never did tell me what happened between you two."

"Remember the Martinez case we worked on together?"

"Yeah. I was on loan with vice at the time."

"Right, well I did all the work on that case and he took all the credit. He's a manipulative little asshole who always turns things his way on other people's expense."

"It's about time we put a stop to it then," McCall remarked.

At that moment her phone rang,

"McCall, homicide. Oh, Hi Mom. No I won't forget about lunch today. Yeah, Sid's at noon. Okay see you then, bye."

"Sounds like someone's worried you're not gonna show," Hunter grinned.

"You know my Mom."

"Okay, we read the file. Where shall we start." Hunter looked at her expectantly.

"I'd like to take a look at the crime scene. Feel the neighborhood atmosphere."

"Fine with me. Let's go Sherlock."

They drove to a hispanic part of town where the guy, who was actually named Romeo, was murdered. Lots of eyes followed the car as it turned into the alley.

The marks of where the body used to be were still there. A large dried bloodstain on the ground, chalk marks indicating where to find evidence.

"Feeling anything yet?" Hunter asked his partner.

"Don't make fun of me Hunter," her tone of voice told him to shut up.

"Romeo Ortiz lived in this apartment building," McCall thought out loud.

"He could have been surprised by his killer when he took out the trash."

"You think the killer was waiting for him?"

"Or on his way to the building when he ran into him. The report said the trash bag was lying next to him."

"He was shot with a .22. The brother of the girl happened to own one according to the registration. I couldn't find anything on the gun in the report though."

"Have you read the file? The guy told them it was stolen."

Hunter looked at her sheepishly, "I guess I read it a little fast and skipped that part."

"Let's go talk to him. I felt enough around here," she said sarcastically.

Michael Hernandez wasn't pleased to see them, "The other cops harassed me enough. I didn't kill the guy."

"Okay, you didn't kill the guy," McCall repeated him.

"Tell me about the gun."

"A .22, registered. It was stolen a week before the murder. I reported it to the police but they didn't do nothing with it as usual."

"Where did you report it?"

"The station two blocks down."

"Any idea who might have done it?" Hunter asked.

"No, but he sure beat me to it."

"Why were you so against the relationship between Mr. Ortiz and your sister?"

"Wrong neighborhood. She deserved better."

"Last question. Where were you during the time of the murder?"

"Right here, talking to my mate Bo on the phone. We talked for about thirty minutes."

"Okay, thanks for your time."

"His statement in the file is the same, only they didn't check his alibi," McCall said as they walked back to the car.

The sound of a clock filled the air in the quiet street, McCall looked at her watch.

"Noon! I gotta get to Sid's, Mom is waiting."

"I'll take you," Hunter said. "And then I'll check Mr. Hernandez's phone records."

Ten minutes later the green Monaco pulled over in front of Sid's café with screeching tires. McCall jumped out and went in,

"Sorry Mom, busy case. I lost track of time." she said catching her breath as she sat down.

"I almost gave up on you." Grace answered.

"I hope you don't mind me ordering for you."

"Thanks."

Karen, the waitress, brought them their order and filled the coffee mugs.

"I'm glad you decided to come back," Grace started.

"When Rick told me what had happened I felt devastated but I think I can understand now why you had to take some time away from everything."

"I just followed my heart. There's no other way I can explain it."

They finished the rest of their lunch in silence.

"I'm just glad you are okay," Grace broke the silence.

"Mom, please drop it. I did what I did for me and it told me a lot about myself. It made me a stronger person and it made me realize I'm blessed to have you and Rick at my side."

"Okay, change of subject. How did you like New York?"

"Hectic, busy, crazy, vibrant, need I go on. I loved it, now I know why Dad dragged you to that city."

"Yeah, kicking and screaming but at the end of the holiday I didn't want to leave."

"I brought you something," McCall reached for her purse and took out a small package.

Grace opened it. The little box contained a set of silver earrings.

"I knew you always wanted to have a pair to match the necklace Dad gave you. So when I saw these I couldn't resist."

"Thank you Honey, they are gorgeous."

At that moment Hunter walked in, looked around to see where they were seated and when he spotted them walked over to the table.

"Hi Grace," he greeted her.

"Hi Rick, how are you?"

"Fine thanks, and you?"

"I'm fine."

"What's up?" McCall asked him.

"Well," he started as he sat down.

"Mr. Hernandez his alibi checks out, he was on the phone during the time of the murder. And he was talking to his mate Bo, also known as Roberto Ortiz."

"Ortiz? Are you saying what I think you're saying."

"Yeah, Romeo's brother. Hernandez called him on his cell and the signal was picked up by an antenna only a block away from Romeo Ortiz's apartment."

"We should pay this Bo a visit."

"My thoughts exactly," he replied and turned to Grace.

"I'm sorry to steal her away from you but it's kinda important."

"I figured that. You two better catch that guy."

"Thanks Mom, I'll call you tonight." McCall stood up and followed Hunter to the car.

"Be careful," Grace called after them."

The door to the apartment didn't open after several knocks.

"Let's go back to the car and wait for him to show," Hunter suggested.

"And what if he doesn't?" McCall wanted to know.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it okay."

Walking back to the car McCall thought of something, "I'll have to give Charlie a call that I'm not gonna be able to drop by today."

"He'll understand."

After two hours of sitting in the car waiting McCall felt hungry. She took a package of crunchy candy balls out of her purse, opened it and started to eat, loudly. Hunter looked aside, irritated.

"What! I can't eat these silently." she put another one in her mouth.

Hunter doesn't respond.

"Here, you try." she hands him the package.

He takes it from her and emptied it outside the window. Then her returns the now empty package to her still not saying a word.

"Great Hunter, that's gonna cost you $1,75!"

Just as he wanted to respond Roberto Ortiz entered the building.

"Here's our guy, let's go."

The two of them got out of the car and followed him up. When they reached the apartment Hunter knocked on the door. A young man opened the door,

"Roberto Ortiz?" Hunter asked.

"Who wants to know."

They flashed him their badges, "I'm Sgt. Hunter, this is my partner Sgt. McCall. We have a couple of questions for you."

"A couple of questions?" he repeated.

"Can we come in?"

"Sure," he let them in.

"Where were you when your brother was murdered?" Hunter asked while McCall let her eyes go over the living room.

"Talking to my mate Mike Hernandez over the phone. I was on my way to see Romeo and about two blocks away from his place."

"Hernandez is your mate." McCall pitched in.

"Yeah."

"How come you are such good buddies and your brother isn't enough for his sister."

Roberto sat down on the couch, "It wasn't that he wasn't good enough for her. Romeo had some problems, gang related problems. Mike warned him about it."

"Clean up your act or else?"

"Something like that. He wanted to get out of it but it's not that easy you know. I went over to see if I could help him but the murderer beat me to it."

"Okay, that's all we want to know. For now. Thanks."

Roberto showed them out.

"I don't think he has anything to do with his brother's death," McCall said to Hunter on their way back to the car.

"Me neither. It sounds like Mike placed the call to keep him away from his brother and someone else killed him."

"Now all we have to do is find the person who pulled the trigger and tie him to Mike."

"That's gonna be easier said than done." Hunter remarked.

"The one thing I can't understand is why the other detectives didn't come this far. It's pretty straight forward police work," McCall said to Hunter as they drove back to the precinct.

"I bet Johnny Dunn had something to do with that."

"How?"

"I don't know yet but I'll find a way."

When they got off the elevator and walked to their desks Hunter noticed a visitor in the Captain's office.

"Look who's here to check up on us," he said and squinted his eyes.

"Mr. Dunn in person. How nice of him," McCall sarcastically added.

As soon as Captain Smythe saw them he asked them in,

"Sgt. Hunter, Sgt. McCall I believe you know Lt. Dunn," Captain Smythe said sitting down.

"Yeah we do," Hunter answered.

"Would you like to fill us in on what you have found out so far."

"Well we checked out the crime scene, talked to Michael Hernandez, the girl's brother. And to Roberto Ortiz, the victims brother.

Both Mr. Hernandez and Mr. Ortiz have an alibi for the time of the murder, they were talking on the phone to each other. Phone records confirmed this.

We feel Mr. Hernandez placed the call to keep Mr. Ortiz away from his brother so that someone else could kill him. The .22 that was used to kill Romeo Ortiz was stolen from Mr. Hernandez, or so he says."

"Do you have any evidence to back this up?" Lt. Dunn wanted to know.

"Not yet."

"Well, good work so far. Keep it up," Captain Smythe stood up to show them out.

"One more thing," McCall turned to Lt. Dunn.

"You and your team could have found all this, it's pretty straight forward police work."

"We did."

"Why isn't it in the file."

"It isn't? Someone must have forgotten, happens when you are busy with multiple cases," he smiled at her.

Hunter felt a wave of jealousy going through him when he saw this.

"The lead probably went dead or something," Dunn added.

McCall just nodded and left the office followed by Hunter.

"When did he make Lieutenant?" Hunter hissed.

"Or better, what strings did he pull."

McCall grabbed him by the arm and made him look at her,

"Get over it! It will happen to you some day."

"You're right," he sighed.

"What did you make of his explanation?"

"Not much. He's lying and it looks like he's got Captain Smythe wrapped around his little finger."

"Right."

The following weeks the investigation went slow but they got closer to solving it step by step.


	7. July

July

McCall still hadn't had the time to go and see Charlie until today. She used her lunch hour to pay him a visit.

"I'm glad you're coming back next week, this Captain Smythe is..."

"Driving Hunter crazy," Charlie interrupted.

"Not just Hunter," she confessed.

"I know, I had some complaints from other people too."

"The case we are working on right now is putting a lot of strain on us. Working with Lt. Dunn and his men isn't easy."

"You look tired, everything okay?"

"I haven't been sleeping much the last week," she didn't tell him about the nightmares she'd been having every night and how she and Hunter were longing for a decent nights rest.

"How is that investigation coming along?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Slow. We are getting the feeling someone doesn't want us to find out the truth and in the mean time there's something brewing out there that could easily turn into a riot."

"What's the Captain doing about it?"

"Not much, Dunn's got him wrapped around his little finger."

"Hang in there, next week is gonna be very different for Mr. Dunn," Charlie smiled and managed to make McCall smile as well.

When she got back to the precinct Hunter was waiting for her in the parking lot.

"Good news, Ash finally got some info from one of the members of the same gang Mike Hernandez is in. Turns out Mike's a big shot and had a contract out on Romeo Ortiz. He wasn't just from the wrong neighborhood, he was from the wrong gang."

"This could end up in an ordinary gang war."

"Right and I know just the person who wants to light this fire."

"Did Ash have some more on the shooter?"

"He did, we can meet him in half an hour. How is Charlie?"

"He's fine, looking good and eager to get back to work."

"That's good to hear."

Hunter's informant Ash was waiting for them at their usual meeting place, an old abandoned warehouse.

"What have you got for us Ash?" Hunter asked.

"The kid who shot Romeo Ortiz said to me he got the gun from Mike personally. He wanted Romeo out of the way cause he was messing with Mike's sister and was considered a threat to his gang cause he knew too much. Mike had offered a place in his gang but Romeo refused."

"Do you think this kid wants to testify against Mike in exchange for a new ID?"

"I don't know, he's pretty scared. I can always ask."

"Unless you can find something else to tie Mike to this murder."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, thanks." Hunter said and handed him his fee.

"That's another step closer," he said to McCall on the way back.

"Yeah," she sighed.

What they didn't know was that the fire was about to be lit.

Three in the morning, McCall woke up screaming, sweating and crying. She was sitting up in bed her eyes wide open and a frightened look on her face.

Hunter wrapped his arm around her and pulled her cose,

"Shhh, it's over. It was only a dream, you're safe now."

She relaxed at his touch and soothing words,

"It was horrible Rick. Smoke and fire all around me and I couldn't find you anywhere. I called out your name but all I could hear was someone laughing."

"It's a dream Dee Dee, it's over now."

She took a sip from the glass of water on the nightstand and snuggled close to him before dozing off again.

The next day started out as a quiet day.

Both Hunter and McCall worked on some reports while waiting for some news from Ash. It came just before lunch and it wasn't good.

"The kid that shot Romeo Ortiz was found dead in his building this morning, it looks like Ortiz's gang did it. The rest of the gang is preparing to take revenge. It's gonna get out of hand."

"How did he die?" Hunter wanted to know.

"He was shot, I happened to see the shell casing before the detective bagged it. It looked like a 9mm."

"Who picked it up?"

"Lt. Dunn, he was at the scene pretty quick."

Hunter sighed when he heard this.

"There was something else. After he bagged the casing he looked around and then put it in his pocket."

"Thanks Ash, I owe you one." he said and hung up the phone.

"Sounds like Dunn is up to his old tricks again," McCall remarked after Hunter had filled her in.

"And a new one. He wasn't into murder before," Hunter pointed out to her.

"No he hasn't. It's gonna be tough to prove though."

"I know but it's not gonna stop me from trying."

"Why don't we talk to Mike Hernandez. He can stop this gang war from happening if he wants to." McCall suggested.

"Yeah we could try."

"Sorry Sgt's, nothing I can do. It's out of my hands," Mike told them.

"We know it was a cop who murdered your boy, not one of Ortiz's gang. We just haven't got enough to arrest him on," Hunter explained.

"A cop killed him?" Mike repeated in disbelief.

"I don't know his motive, maybe he wants this war to happen."

"I'll see what I can do but like I said earlier it's out of my hands."

Evening fell, Hunter and McCall were busy going through the case file again to find out where Dunn fitted in when a call from Ash came in. All hell had broken loose in the neighborhood where Ortiz's gang ruled and the violence was turning into riots.

People were going through that part of the city luting and setting fire to stores, dumpsters and cars leaving a trail of destruction.

Special forces were desperately trying to stop them, so far to no avail.

"We have to get out there," Hunter said to McCall.

"We have to find out what or who started this."

With big strides he headed for the elevator but stopped and turned around when he noticed McCall wasn't coming.

"Come on."

"I don't know Rick, maybe we should wait until it's over."

He noticed her hesitation,

"The sooner we find out what caused this the sooner we can put a stop to it."

McCall wasn't sure but she didn't like the idea of him going out there alone either, so she went along.

The streets looked like a war zone, sidewalks covered in glass, garbage and other rubble. Burning buildings, empty shop windows, cars either on their side or upside down, some of them burning. People running from one side of the street to the other trying to stay out of police hands. A feeling of fear came over McCall as she watched this while Hunter maneuvered the car through all this. The whole scene looked just like what she had seen in her dream.

Hunter pulled up in front of a building and got out, McCall followed. They went in and stopped in front of apartment 3c on the first floor. He banged on the door with his fist,

"Ash, it's Hunter. Open up!" he yelled.

No answer.

"Ash!" he yelled again.

Still no answer.

"He's probably somewhere out there," McCall said.

"I think you're right. We have to find him, he might be able to help us link Dunn to all of this."

"Why don't we start looking at his usual hangouts?" she suggested.

"Good idea."

As they left the building a big mob of people followed by police separated Hunter from McCall in a split second and when the sidewalk had cleared he was gone.

"Hunter?" she said thinking he was hiding somewhere but he didn't show.

A feeling of panic washed over here,

"Rick this isn't funny. Come out." she raised her voice in concern.

For a moment McCall didn't know what to do. She couldn't call for backup cause Hunter had locked the car and took the keys. So she had to find another way, went back into the building and wanted to knock on the first door she came across. At that moment someone grabbed her and pulled her into a darker part of the hallway.

The person that grabbed her had a gloved hand over her mouth, she couldn't make a sound. The firm grip prevented her from moving.

"Listen carefully," a hoarse mans voice said.

"Stop your investigation in this case. You might get hurt if you don't."

McCall tried to listen if there was anything familiar about the voice, but there wasn't. Her purse with her gun had fallen when the guy grabbed her, so there wasn't much she could do.

"You can find your partner between two buildings," he said before pushing her forward and making a run for it.

She slammed into the wall and landed on the floor hard. Before leaving the building the guy took a last look at her and laughed, something that sounded familiar to her. Another part of her dream.

After sitting on the floor for a while she stood up, picked up her purse and limped out the door.

'That's gonna be black and blue,' she thought rubbing her behind.

Once outside she saw their car, it had been set on fire.

'Great!' she thought.

The clue the guy had given her told her Hunter must be in some alley but where. The only alley she could think of was the one Romeo Ortiz had been murdered in and that one was on the other side of the neighborhood. That meant she had to go through the riots.

It was the least of her worries. In what kind of condition would she find Hunter, as far as she knew he could be dead.

Finding a way through the groups of fighting people and police wasn't an easy task but somehow she managed. When she reached the street where Romeo Ortiz used to live everything was silent. A couple of burning cars and the mess on the street were the only reminders of what had happened there. She reached the alley and turned the corner.

Hunter was sitting on the ground, his back against a dumpster his eyes closed. McCall walked towards him with her gun drawn, kneeled besides him and wanted to check his vitals when he opened them.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He looked her in the eye,

"I'm okay. A bit groggy and my head hurts like hell," he said with a soft voice.

"What happened?"

"When that mob separated me from you someone hit me on the head. I passed out and woke up here. I must have woken at some point cause I can remember a voice telling me to quit this case or else."

"Someone grabbed me from behind when I wanted to call for backup and told me the same thing. He set fire to the car by the way."

"Damn! How did you get here?"

"I walked." she said sitting down next to him.

"This case is getting more complicated by the minute," she sighed.

"I know how you feel but we must go on or this person will get away with what he did."

"Yeah, I know. Let's get out of here can you stand up?"

"I think so," carefully, holding on to the dumpster and McCall, who was already standing, Hunter got up.

A bit wobbly he took a couple of steps,

"I'll be fine," he said surely.

It took them a long time to get home, they had to go through the still spreading riots.

Once they got there McCall ordered Hunter to the bedroom. He didn't mind, his head was throbbing and he felt tired.

Not long after she joined him and brought a cold compress for his head.

"I'm gonna take a shower, back in a minute," she told him.

"Okay."

When she returned he was fast asleep. She watched him for a while, stroked his cheek and whispered,

"I love you,"

Before snuggling close to him and doze off herself.

The next morning when McCall woke he was gone. She found him sitting at the kitchen table looking through the morning paper,

"Good morning, how are you feeling?" she wanted to know.

"Better," he answered.

"Those riots were pretty destructive," he changed the subject.

"The paper is full of it."

McCall poured herself a mug of fresh coffee and joined him at the table,

"Did they managed to stop them?"

"Sort of. It's quiet now but anything could start them again."

"What are we gonna do about our case?" she asked.

"Continue."

"I figured that."

"How about we go through the file one more time to see if we haven't missed anything and take it from there," Hunter suggested.

"Works for me," she answered.

Hunter got up from the table to get another mug of coffee. McCall watched his stiff moves, he was feeling worse then he let on.

Later after a hot shower he felt better, but McCall wouldn't let him drive to the precinct. She had called her mom to ask if she could use her car until they got another one later that day.

At the precinct Hunter went through the case file with a fine tooth comb but didn't come up with anything new. McCall was going through some other files looking for a connection between Mike Hernandez and Lt. Dunn, she got lucky.

"Dunn arrested Mike for possession of an illegal firearm and an illegal substance two years ago. He got off with a fine and probation cause he gave evidence in another case. He was arrested a lot of times after that but never did any time."

"I bet Dunn made it go away for something in return. I think we should bring him in for a serious talk," Hunter said and lifted himself out of the chair, the expression on his face told McCall he was hurting.

"Are you sure you are okay? I could take Brad with me instead," she said worried.

"I'm okay McCall," his reaction was harsh and blunt, something she hadn't seen from him before.

Without saying another word she took her purse out of the bottom drawer of her desk and headed for the elevator followed by a stiff moving Hunter.

"I'm sorry," he said after the elevator doors had closed.

"I know you are worried and I shouldn't have reacted like that," he put his hand on her shoulder.

She looked up to him, "You are right, I'm worried. You are obviously in pain and it isn't a shame to admit that you know. Let someone else handle the tough work."

"Yeah but on the other hand, the less people know about this the better. There can always be a leak."

The door to Mike Hernandez's apartment remained closed after several knocks.

"He must still be out there," Hunter thought out loud.

"He's gonna be hard to track down," McCall added.

"Maybe Sporty can help,"

"Good idea partner."

Sporty wasn't at his usual spot, actually there wasn't much left of his usual spot. The rioting mob hadn't spared his 'office'.

A couple of people were busy clearing out the rubble and cleaning up. One of them was Kirby.

Hunter pulled over and rolled down the window,

"Hey Kirby!" he yelled.

Kirby jumped up as if he was stung by a bee but soon calmed down when he saw Hunter,

"What's this, new police tactics. Scaring people to death instead of shooting them?"

Hunter ignored his comment, "Where can I find Sporty."

"You don't want to see him right now, oh no. He's in a foul mood over this," pointing at the mess.

"Well, I'm about to make his day, so where is he."

"The playground two blocks from here."

"I know where to find that, thanks."

"Just what I need, you two bringing me more bad news." Sporty remarked as he saw them walk up.

"I just got off the phone with my insurance company, they don't cover this."

"That's too bad Sporty."

"Anyway, how can I be of help to you officers today."

"We are looking for Mike Hernandez. He's very important to our case and we think hid life may be in danger."

"Mike Hernandez? He's real trouble you know. I'd keep far away from his sort."

"We can't Sporty. He can help us put a dirty cop away," McCall pitched in.

"Well okay, I'll ask around and give you a call in an hour."

That hour became two hours, then three hours and finally after three and a half hours Sporty called,

"Man this was one hard to find dude,"

"Did you find him?"

"What do you take me for!"

"Sporty where is he," Hunter said angry.

"Their new gang head quarters at York street. It's crawling with members, not a safe place to be I tell you."

"Thanks for the advice but I've been to worse places," Hunter said before hanging up the phone.

Hunter parked the car in an alley across the street, where they had a good view on the building. Two large guys were guarding the front door, people were going in and out.

"What do you want to do?" McCall asked him.

"Wait until Mike comes out and pick him up?"

"No I'm going in to get him," he said opening the car door to get out.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." he shut the door and walked off.

She watched him walk stiffly towards the building and decided to come along.

"What do you want?" one of the big guys barked.

"We want to speak to Mike Hernandez," Hunter answered.

"He ain't here."

"Why don't I believe you."

The guy looked at Hunter, "Didn't you understand me the first time, he ain't here. So you better leave before I get angry." he said and opened his jacket to reveal his gun.

Hunter wasn't impressed and showed him his, "And so will I."

The other guy was looking at McCall from top to bottom,

"Maybe we could have some fun sweet cakes."

"You are not my idea of fun," she remarked.

"Ohh feisty."

The two men laughed. Hunter could feel his blood starting to boil but managed to remain calm,

"Either you two ask Mike Hernandez to come out or we are going in to get him ourselves."

"I told you before, he ain't here." the first guy shouted.

"Hey, what's a guy gotta do to get some rest around here!" Mike's head appeared through the opened window above them, he froze when he saw Hunter and McCall.

"Not here huh." Hunter said to the big guy in front of him and turned to Mike.

"Mike, I wanna talk to you. You're life is in danger."

Mike thought about it for a second, "Let then in guys."

The two stepped aside so they could enter the building. Mike came down and lead them into what appeared to be the living area.

"So what's this about my life being in danger," he said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Meanwhile outside, a hand reached through the open window of Hunter's replacement car and destroyed the radio. The same hand took out a gun from under a jacket, the other hand attached a silencer. It took two shots to take out the two big guys by the door, entering the building was easy now. The sound of voices lead the shooter to the next target. Standing outside looking just around the doorway the shooter took aim, pulled the trigger and send a bullet flying through the room.

"Dee Dee get down!" Hunter yelled throwing himself to the ground taking Mike with him. McCall did the same and rolled into a safer position behind the couch. Hunter and Mike joined her when Mike noticed he was bleeding. The bullet had hit him in the arm.

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked his partner looking worried.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm fine too. I think the bullet was meant for Mike.

The shooter realized the target had been missed and had to plan the next move carefully. All three people in that room had to be killed so there wouldn't be any witnesses. The plan was to make them think the shooter had left and then strike again.

Ten minutes later they were still behind the couch,

"Do you think he left?" Mike asked Hunter.

"Don't know, I'm gonna check it out."

With his gun drawn Hunter left the hiding place very carefully, keeping as low as possible. Once he reached the wall he stood up and pressed himself to it moving slowly towards the door.

In a flash the shooter was standing in front of him, the gun pointed in his direction. Hunter wasn't surprised when he saw who he was dealing with.

"Johnny Dunn, I should have known."

"That's Lt. Dunn for you. Drop your weapon and that goes for you to McCall!"

"I'm not gonna be your target practice and neither is my partner."

"Stop playing hero Hunter, it doesn't suit you."

McCall was taking aim from behind the couch, "One clear shot is all I need," she whispered.

Mike heard this and made an unexpected move, he jumped up.

"It's me you want Dunn, not them."

What happened next all went in a split second, Dunn swung himself and his gun in Mike's direction ready to pull the trigger. McCall got her clear shot and beat him to it hitting him in the chest twice. He sank to the floor and died instantly.


	8. August

August

With Johnny Dunn dead Mike told Hunter and McCall everything he knew. Dunn was actually the leader of the gang but appointed Mike as his right hand. He ordered the hit on Romeo Ortiz cause he was a threat, belonging to another gang.

"What about the riots?" McCall wanted to know.

"Dunn was responsible for that. When I told you there was nothing I could do to stop them I wasn't lying. He hadn't told me about his plan and when I found out it was too late."

"Was he also responsible for the death of the kid that carried out the hit on Ortiz?"

"Yeah, he knew it would cause tension between the two neighborhoods. All he had to do was put some oil on the fire, the riots were the result."

"Why were you so helpful to us when we asked you about the Ortiz murder?" Hunter asked.

"That was Dunn's idea, he said he saw an opportunity."

"For what?"

"Getting rid of you. He knew you would go after me, that way he could work on his own plan."

"Did you know what his plan was?"

"Not at first, I thought he just wanted to teach you a lesson over something that happened in the past. Later I realized he was planning to kill you. That night at Ash's place I was the one that knocked you down and drove you to the alley. Dunn was the one who threatened your partner and set fire to the car so he would have plenty of time to kill you before she arrived."

"Why didn't he kill me?"

"He got a phone call and told me he had to take care of something. I was ordered to kill you but I didn't. You were my chance to get out of Dunn's hands. I knew he would track me down and punish me for not killing you so I told Ash where you could find me and hoped you would be there before Dunn did. I knew he would follow you."

"And the rest is history."

Captain Smythe was stunned when he heard the whole story, he couldn't believe Dunn being dirty.

"He always was a smooth talker," Hunter remarked.

"You weren't the first person to fall for that Pete," Charlie reassured him.

Captain Smythe sighed, "And I won't be the last either."

"Good work you two," Charlie praised his officers.

"All in a days work," Hunter replied with a grin and they left the office.

"I'll make sure Mike gets a reduced sentence for helping us out," McCall said as she sat down at her desk and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, in a way he was a victim too," Hunter said.

By the end of the day they headed home. While Hunter parked the car, McCall emptied the mailbox. A fancy envelope caught her attention, 'To Rick and Dee Dee' it read.

"And? Anything that doesn't involve money?" Hunter wanted to know.

"Yeah, this." she handed him the envelope and he opened it.

"It's an invitation to a wedding."

"Mel and Dave's? Let me see." she tried to take the invite from him but he kept it out of reach.

"Oh no, I got it first."

"When is it, tell me."

"Hang on, let me take a look," he read it carefully.

"Well?" McCall was getting impatient with him.

"August 20th in New York and she wants you to be one of her bridesmaids."

"You are kidding," she said in disbelief.

"No, here read for yourself," he handed the invite back to her.

"Wow," was all she could say.

Hunter saw her becoming emotional, "You will make the best and most beautiful bridesmaid there is."

He wrapped his arm around her and together they walked inside.

The two weeks that followed were creeping along slowly.

Both Hunter and McCall had to give evidence during Mike Hernadez's trial. They pointed out Mike's willingness to help and that because of his actions he became a victim too. In the end he got a lighter sentence then expected.

The day of their departure for New York was getting closer. Mel had send McCall some instructions on what to wear. That meant going through her wardrobe to see if she had anything suitable or dragging Hunter with her to do some mean shopping.

Her wardrobe didn't provide all the things she needed so on their next afternoon off it was time to shop.

"McCall do I have to? There are so much better things we could be doing right now." he pleaded with her.

"One lousy afternoon Hunter. That's all it's gonna take, besides you need something new too."

The decision had been made, there was nothing he could do about it but go along.

Spending the afternoon going from shop to shop wasn't as bad as Hunter thought. He was secretly enjoying himself, watching the woman he loved showing several gorgeous outfits in front of him, asking his opinion.

All he needed were a couple of new shirts but by the end of the day he returned home with a complete new outfit and so did McCall.

Satisfied but exhausted they fell on the couch,

"That was some afternoon," he sighed.

"Hmmm. I don't feel like cooking, do you?" she looked at him.

"Not really. All I wanna do is put my feet up."

"I'll order a pizza then," McCall pulled herself off the couch to make the call.

At the end of the week they flew to New York and checked into a small but comfortable hotel. McCall had called Mel as soon as they had settled in. She invited them for lunch later that day,

"Okay, see you then." McCall said and hung up the phone.

"What's up?" Hunter asked.

"Lunch at our usual place," McCall answered.

This comment reminded him that he wasn't the only one with a history in New York now.

Mel and Dave were already waiting for them at a table as they walked in. They greeted each other with a hug, kisses and handshakes before sitting down.

"You guys look so happy," McCall remarked.

"Does it show?" Dave joked, his reward was an elbow shoved in his side by Mel. "Ouch!"

This whole scene made Hunter choke in his coffee,

"What?" McCall wanted to know.

"Nothing, I just got a deja-vu."

She rolled her eyes, "Guys."

"You are coming to my girls night out tonight?" Mel asked her.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Just tell me when and where and I'll be there."

"My place at eight."

"Are you having a stud night Dave?" Hunter asked.

"Not that I know of. My Captain wants me at the station tonight for a meeting we were supposed to have had yesterday. I think I'll invite the guys for a drink afterwards. You can join us, I'll let you know when and where."

"Sounds good."

Dave left the table to go to the bathroom, Mel turned to Hunter, "He's gonna get his stud night only he doesn't know it yet. The meeting is a cover up, It's at the station at eight thirty."

"And he doesn't suspect a thing?"

"I think he does but he'll never let it show."

"My lips are sealed," Hunter promised.

After lunch McCall took Hunter to where she had lived during the time she had stayed in New York and to some of her favorite places. Enjoying some ice cream on a bench overlooking the harbor McCall turned to him,

"Do you think Dave's colleagues hired a stripper?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I mean it's part of a stud night right?" he was expecting a punch or a dirty look from her but nothing happened.

"Would you like to have one at yours?"

"Well, not just any stripper can come to my party."

"Oh?"

"She has to be tall, blond, nice round shapes and in a police uniform."

"I could have known," McCall said shaking her head.

"Wait a second, what about a stripper at your party?"

"I don't want one."

"Hold on, not even a tall, dark and handsome one?" Hunter looked at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Well it might be tradition but there's just one real stripper for me."

"Oh and who might that be?"

"You." and she quickly kissed him on the lips.

"But I'm not allowed at your party," he pouted.

"Than you'll just have to perform some other time Big Guy."

"You name the time and place Honey," he wrapped his arm around her, she leaned against him and they enjoyed the view for a while before going back to the hotel.

After a quick dinner, a shower and a change of clothes they each went to their party.

Hunter arrived at the station house at eight thirty sharp, right on time to see the surprised look on Dave's face as he entered the squad room to find a party in his honor instead of a meeting.

Dave introduced him to his colleagues as his LA connection.

The men had a great time, blond stripper included, until the party ended at around midnight.

"We'll see you tomorrow and make sure you get to the church on time," one of them said to Dave.

"I'll be there, don't worry. Thanks guys."

McCall was a little late arriving at Mel's party. She knew most of the girls there already from the time she had lived in New York. They all wanted to know how she was and what was going on in her life.

After catching up they left to paint the town red.

A couple of bars later they ended up in a male strip club. The girls had planned this and hired the best looking guy to perform for them. It was a big success.

Tired and a little tipsy McCall stumbled into the hotel room at around two in the morning waking a sleeping Hunter in the process.

"Had a good time huh," he remarked looking sleepy.

"Yeah," she giggled. "How was your party?"

"Good, they hired a knock out stripper and had plenty of food and drink."

"So did we," she crawled into bed next to him after undressing first.

He wanted to tell her more but noticed she had fallen asleep, he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek instead before going back to sleep himself.

The next morning, wedding day.

McCall took her time getting ready, making it impossible for Hunter to take a shower and do his stuff.

"C'mon McCall, you must be done by now. I want to at least take a shower before we go."

"I'll be out in a minute."

"You said that fifteen minutes ago!"

The door swung open and so did Hunter's mouth,

"What? Something not right?"

"It's perfect, you look absolutely perfect."

"I want to be, for Mel."

"Believe me, you are." he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye as he said that.

"Thank you," she replied softly.

"Now I'm gonna take my shower and get ready."

They arrived at the church early, Hunter went to find a seat while McCall went looking for Mel.

From where he was sitting Hunter had a good view at the altar and the rest of the church. It wasn't very big but beautifully decorated with various woodcarvings and murals. Just the place he'd like to get married in some day.

Gradually the guests started to arrive and filled up the benches.

McCall had found Mel and was introduced to her sister Sharon who would be the other bridesmaid. Mel looked absolutely stunning in her creme colored sleeveless dress. It had a tight body, a wide skirt trailing behind her and a veil attached to a silver tiara.

Both McCall and Sharon were wearing a creme outfit.

"You look absolutely stunning Mel," McCall told her.

"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself."

There was a knock on the door and Mel's brother Tim entered, he was going to give her away. Their father had passed away two years earlier so now this was his job.

Mel's mom was beaming, her youngest was the first one to get married.

Dave was waiting at the altar, his best friend Rob standing next to him as his best man. He looked handsome in his dark blue suit and was obviously nervous.

Behind the doors everyone took their places,

"You look great sis," Tim whispered.

She squeezed his arm.

The music started, the doors opened and slowly they started to walk down the aisle.

As they walked passed McCall made eye contact with Hunter and smiled. He knew she was enjoying every minute of it. When they reached the altar McCall and Sharon stepped aside and sat down on the front row bench.

All through the ceremony they had their brief moments of eye contact and it didn't go unnoticed,

"Is he your husband?" Sharon whispered to her.

"No, not yet."

She looked at McCall questioningly.

"We haven't decided on a date yet."

"Ahh."

After exchanging vows, rings and the kiss the guests followed them out of the church where a car was waiting to take the newly weds to their party. Before she got in Mel threw her bouquet and McCall was the one to catch it.

"You better set that date now." Sharon said to her passing by.

"Maybe we should," a familiar voice said behind her.

She turned around and looked into Hunters blue eyes.

"Yeah, maybe," she said softly and looked down at her feet.

He lifted her chin up, "When you're ready."

They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Hunter broke the silence,

"Come on, we've got a party to go to."

The party was at a location just outside the city. Like the happy couple had asked in their invitation everyone had changed into something casual.

A band was playing hits form the 60s, 70s and 80s, the dance floor had filled with people and among them were Mel and Dave.

McCall sat down at a table while Hunter got them something to drink. Looking around the room she noticed some old colleagues and before she knew it they were at her table wanting to know how she was. Hunter returned with their drinks and joined them.

After a while he decided he wanted her to himself for a while and created the perfect moment.

The band had just returned from a break and started to play a slow song.

"If you don't mind I'd like to steal my partner away for a dance," he announced and reached out his hand to her.

Without hesitating she took it,

"Sorry guys, It's been fun catching up but I promised him a dance."

Seconds later they were on the dance floor moving slowly to the music, enjoying the close moment.

Mel was watching them from where she was sitting. Dave noticed she was watching something and followed her gaze,

"They do make a perfect couple, don't they." he said.

"I was thinking the same thing," she answered softly and looked at him.

"I hope they can find the same happiness as we did."

"They will."

It was early in the morning when they returned to the hotel room. McCall dropped herself on the bed,

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time,"

Hunter joined her on the bed, propped up on one elbow,

"Me neither, I'm glad you had fun."

"The look on Dave's face when his mates did that song with the blow up doll was priceless." the thought brought a smile to her face.

"I sure hope she finds a good home." Hunter said trying to sound serious.

"Maybe she could move in with us," the wide grin plastered over his face said it all.

McCall rolled on her side and gave him a push that made him fall on his back,

"And I could stay in the spare room right?" she remarked sarcastically.

"What a good idea, I hadn't thought of that."

"Men!" she rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna take a quick shower."

She hopped off the bed into the bathroom. When she returned Hunter was sound asleep still dressed in his party clothes. She watched him for a while, seeing his chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, his relaxed face. She decided to wake him so he could change and crawl back in.

"Since we have another day here, why don't we go sightseeing like tourists do." Hunter suggested during breakfast the next morning.

"You mean Empire State Building, Lady Liberty, the works?" McCall looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah and take one of those tourist trips by bus."

"Do they have those trips here?"

"To be honest I don't know but we can find out."

"And see Times Square and Broadway," McCall went on.

"I'd guess we better leave now, we only have one day remember," Hunter said with a smile.

"What are we waiting for then!" McCall jumped up from her chair.

"I would like to get dressed first and I think you should too,"

McCall looked at what she was wearing, a robe, and giggled,

"You are right, stupid me."

She disappeared into the bathroom.

Later when they got down to the lobby the desk clerk stopped them,

"Miss McCall, I have a message for you."

He handed her a card, she opened it. 'Thank you for being a wonderful bridesmaid. Mel.'

Then she handed the card to Hunter who was curious to find out who had send it.

"That's sweet of her," he said as they walked out of the hotel.

"I hope they are having a great time on their honeymoon."

"Wouldn't you spending two weeks in the Caribbean?"

"I'd have a great time anywhere as long as you are there with me," she looked at him for a second and took his hand.


	9. September

September

"Earth to McCall," Hunter waving his hand in front of her nose.

"What?"

"Where are you."

"Oh just thinking about the past week," she said with a smile.

"Ah, a New York state of mind."

"Call it what you like."

The phone ringing interrupted the conversation,

"Homicide, McCall. Yes I know a Jim Gordon. He's where? I'm on my way." she hung up, opened the bottom drawer of her desk to take out her purse.

"What's up?" Hunter wanted to know.

"Remember that guy I told you about, the one I met on the plane."

"Yeah, Jim Gordon. I met him once too."

"He's been arrested on suspicion of fraud and used his one phone call to have someone call me. I'm going to there now to find out what's going on. Jim just isn't the kind of person to do such a thing."

"He didn't strike me as one that's for sure. I'm coming with you," Hunter got up and followed her to the elevator.

The guard unlocked the door to the room where Jim was waiting, Hunter and McCall sat down opposite of him.

"I didn't know who else to call, I still had your card," Jim started.

"I know you are with homicide but can you please help me."

"Tell me what happened Jim," McCall said.

"I came back from a trip to Atlanta yesterday and just as I wanted to leave for the office this morning the police was at my door telling me I was under arrest and took me to this place. The two officers that interviewed me told me I was arrested on suspicion of fraud. The company I work, or worked, for is accusing me of making deals behind their back and keep whatever money I make out of them."

"Did you?" Hunter asked.

"No, but there's someone who does and I threatened to expose him."

"This smells like a set up to me," Hunter looked at his partner who nodded in agreement.

"Can you help me?" Jim asked hopefully.

The two officers looked at each other,

"I think we can," McCall said and Jim let out a sigh of relief.

"Have you contacted your wife about this?" McCall asked him.

Jim's face turned sad, "She left me two weeks ago. She couldn't stand being alone all the time she said. I've only been home for six weeks the last four months. I just wanted us to have a little something later on."

"I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am but it won't bring her back. And now this."

"Well first we're gonna get you out of here," Hunter pitched in.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Not really, I'm afraid to go home in case something happens to me when certain people find out I'm out of jail."

"In that case you can stay with us until this is sorted," Hunter offered.

"Thanks, I really appreciate what you are doing for me."

"Consider it helping out a friend."

While McCall was busy with the paperwork that needed to be done to get Jim released in their custody Hunter went over to Jim's house to pick up some clothes and other stuff. On the way back he payed a visit to the officers that interviewed Jim to see what evidence they had against him. He notified Charlie and asked him if he could arrange for them to take over the case.

The evidence contained several documents, contracts and correspondence that suggested Jim had made the deals they accused him of. They all looked pretty genuine.

A phone call from Charlie secured the take over of the case and Jim's release from prison in their custody.

Hunter hurried back to the prison to pick them up, so they could start on the case immediately.

"They sure made an effort to cover their tracks," McCall remarked as she was going through the documents.

For Jim this was the first time he was confronted with the evidence against him,

"If only there was something in here that could prove my innocence."

"Maybe there is," McCall sat up in her chair.

Hunter knew the look on her face, she had an idea,

"This signature," she pointed at one of the documents. "Is it yours?"

"It looks like mine but I never signed it."

"Exactly and there is a way to prove that."

"A handwriting expert," Hunter interrupted.

"Bingo!"

"But that's not enough, we can only prove Jim didn't sign the documents and not who did."

"How about a man on the inside to work on that."

"Sounds like a job for Brad, he makes a perfect salesman."

"He'll be thrilled. I'll run our plan by Charlie," McCall got up from behind her desk and went to Charlie's office.

"Do you think it will work?" Jim asked worried.

"I don't know, but I can't think of anything better right now." Hunter said honestly.

Twenty minutes later the door to Charlie's office opened, McCall came out giving Hunter a thumbs up as she walked towards Brad's desk. She asked to come with her and introduced him to Jim. They explained Jim's situation to him,

"And where do I fit into this?" Brad wanted to know.

"I was just coming to that. We thought you are the right man to go undercover as a salesman to find out who's responsible for those false documents."

"And you think I make a good office appliances salesman?" Brad didn't know if he was supposed to take this seriously or not.

"Jim will give you some pointers but I think you can sell just about anything," Hunter said with a grin.

Brad raised his eyebrows,

"You look reliable, have a way with the ladies, you're a smooth talker, very persuasive without being rude, need I go on," McCall added.

"Well if you put it that way."

"Okay, that's settled. Let's get this show on the road. Jim, take this man to a conference room and fill him in on the ins and outs of being an office appliances salesman. Meanwhile McCall and I will make sure you have a jib to go to tomorrow."

It took some persuasion and female charm from McCall but they got Brad a job at Kensington Office Appliances, starting the next day.

Some hours later Brad and Jim emerged from the conference room, chatting away.

"Well do you think you can handle the job?" Hunter asked Brad.

"I won't say it's a piece of cake but after Jim's coaching I think I'll manage."

"Great. I think it's time we headed home, it's been a long day and tomorrow will be the same," Hunter gestured towards McCall who had a hard time keeping her eyes open.

He got up from his chair, walked over to her and sat down on the corner of her desk,

"Let's go home honey," and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"Yeah, I'm tired." she replied sleepy.

"Best suit and tie tomorrow," Hunter said to Brad as they were about to get into their cars.

"No problem," he replied.

The drive home was a quiet one, McCall was sound asleep in the passenger seat and Jim was staring quietly out the window in the back.

When they arrived Hunter opened the front door before lifting a still sleeping McCall out of the car and carrying her to the bedroom. Jim was outside enjoying the view over the ocean from the deck,

"Want something to drink?" Hunter asked him.

"Do you have a beer?"

"I think so, let me check."

A few minutes later he returned, "I still had one in the fridge, here you go." and handed the can to Jim.

"Thanks, cheers. Great place you have here."

"Yeah, it's the best one I had so far."

"I don't mean to pry but how are the wedding plans coming along?"

"Not so great, we still haven't set a date," Hunter replied between sips.

Jim looked at him in surprise, "You haven't, how come?"

"Life got in the way."

"Oh. It's a shame though, you make such a good couple."

Hunter looked straight ahead out over the ocean, taking another sip from his soda, "Yeah we do."

His thoughts were with his best friend and lover sound asleep in the house, how much he loved her.

Jim broke the silence, "I think I'm gonna turn in, like you said it's gonna be a busy day tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

After finishing his drink Hunter decided it was time to turn in as well.

McCall woke up before the alarm went off wondering why she was still dressed in some of the clothes she wore the previous day and how she got into bed.

Next to her Hunter was sleeping so she left the bed as quiet as she could and slipped into the bathroom.

A little later Hunter woke up from sounds coming from the bathroom, someone was taking a shower.

He got out of bed, walked to the bathroom door and knocked,

"McCall are you in there?"

"Yeah I am,"

This meant he could enter safely.

"Rick."

"Yes."

"Why was I in bed with my clothes on?"

"Because I put you there like that, I could have left you sleeping in the car."

A wet washcloth against his head was her reply.

"That's the thanks I get huh."

"You could have woken me so I could change."

"I tried, you were in your usual coma."

"Yeah I was pretty tired." she admitted and continued humming the tune she started earlier.

"Dee Dee."

"Don't be so impatient, I'll be done in a second."

"Let's set a date."

The humming stopped, "What!"

"Let's set a date," Hunter repeated.

She turned off the water, grabbed the towel she hung close by and wrapped it around her. In a flash she was standing in front of him,

"What brought this on?"

"It's been on my mind lately."

She sighed, " I would be lying if I said that it isn't on my mind."

"Then why not. At Mel and Dave's wedding I imagined us standing there, declaring our love to one another, becoming husband and wife."

McCall saw him become emotional.

"You know I love you and want nothing more than become your wife but we also decided to take things a step at the time."

"I know we did and we will. Can I use the shower now?"

"Be my guest. I'm gonna make us some coffee and see if Jim's awake yet."

Getting dressed the conversation they just had played in her head again, the disappointed look in his eyes said enough. He was ready for this commitment, she wasn't and was afraid to tell him.

When she was done McCall went down to make the coffee. When she looked out of the kitchen window she saw Jim standing on the deck making all kind of weird movements.

"Good morning," she said as she stepped out onto the deck.

"Good morning," Jim said after he had finished his movement.

"What are you doing?"

"Tai-chi, It's a great stress relief. Want me to teach you?"

"No thanks, I'll unwind another way if you don't mind. Want some coffee?"

"I usually don't drink coffee in the morning but I'd like some now."

"One coffee coming up."

Just as McCall poured them both a mug Hunter came down,

"Want some too?"

"Yeah nice. Jim awake yet?"

"He's outside doing some gymnastics. He does that everyday apparently."

Hunter looked at her in surprise as she handed him his mug. Being curious he looked out the kitchen window, Jim was just finishing his exercises.

"Oh, he's into Tai-chi. I've heard it's a great stress relief."

Now it was McCall's turn to look surprised, "How did you know?"

"Read about it in one of your Cosmo's."

"You read my Cosmo's," she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah sometimes. Amazing articles in there."

A look at the clock told them they didn't have much time before leaving for the precinct. After a quick breakfast they left.

Brad was already waiting for them in Charlie's office, dressed in his best suit, looking sharp.

"Nice suit Brad. You look handsome," McCall said with a teasing smile.

"Thanks."

Charlie interrupted, "As I was telling Brad earlier he should try to contact us at least twice a day. Personal contact should be kept to a minimum. Hunter and McCall will provide you with all the info you need. Any questions? No, good luck."

They stepped out of the office and Brad left for his new jib while Hunter and McCall walked towards their desks where Jim was waiting.

"What about him," Hunter asked.

"He's gonna be in the way eventually."

"It was your idea to have him released in our custody." McCall reminded him.

"We could find him some work here though," she suggested.

"Hmm, I'll ask Max down in the mail room. He owes me one." Hunter said and grabbed the phone.

Later that day Jim was helping out with the mail and Hunter was talking to Brad on the phone.

"Okay, we'll look into that. Anything else? Hmm, that's interesting, real interesting. Thanks Brad."

McCall was waiting in anticipation, "What did he find out."

"He wants some background info on Ben James. Jim named him as one of the people that might have set him up cause of the threatening exposure. He got a handwriting sample of this guy and will put it in my mailbox tonight so we can send it to the expert. The most interesting is that Jim's wife is now working as a secretary for Mr.James. According to Brad their relationship goes way further than just business."

"Do you think we should tell Jim?"

"I think we should, he's gonna find out sooner or later."

Jim wasn't really surprised when they told him,

"I kinda suspected her having an affair, now I know who with."

"We're sorry, we just thought you should hear it from us." McCall explained.

"But if she's Ben's secretary it means he made a promotion. He's now the boss of the salesmen for this company in this state."

"Wow, that's a big promotion."

"Exactly and I wonder how he got it."

By the end of the day Hunter and McCall hadn't found much on Ben James,

"This guy is cleaner than my laundry, the only thing he ever did was one parking ticket," McCall remarked.

"You know what," Hunter suggested. "Let's go home and see what Brad brought us."

As promised Brad had left Ben James's handwriting and more. He also got a sample of Jim's former boss and some other colleagues including his wife.

"I don't know how he does it but I'm glad he did." Hunter remarked showing the samples.

The next morning they dropped them off at the office of the expert,

"It's gonna take me at least two days to analyze them all," he told them.

"That's the best you can do?"

"Sorry, but if I do it any quicker I might make crucial mistakes."

Two days is a long time waiting for something important. Brad had told them he was actually enjoying his new job more than he expected. He dropped some hints here and there about making easy money in this business but no one took the bait so far. His feeling was a small group of people was involved in this fraud without the people 'upstairs' didn't know about it.

Like the expert promised the report was on Hunters desk in two days. When he read it his reaction was one of disbelief,

"What is it?" McCall looked up from her work.

He handed her the report, "No one matched, that's impossible."

"We're back to square one," Hunter sighed.

"Maybe not. Jim told me about a guy that left just before he went to Atlanta. He was a very good friend of Ben James. He might be worth looking into."

"Well, I'll inform Brad. I'm meeting him for lunch later."

Meanwhile at the airport a plane from a sunny destination touched down, carrying two people on a surprise mission.

It was around lunch time when a cab pulled up in front of the LAPD building, one person got out.

Inside she asked for Sgt. McCall, the desk sergeant placed a call upstairs,

"Sgt. McCall you have a visitor waiting here." and hung up. "She'll be down in a minute."

The elevator doors opened, she stepped off and saw a familiar face,

"Mel what are you doing here? I thought you were still on honeymoon."

"I am but Dave and I decided we had enough of the beach and visit our new friends and spend some time in LA."

"It's so good to see you."

A big hug followed.

"Where's Dave anyway?"

"He's at the hotel. He wasn't feeling so good, we had kind of a bumpy flight."

"You know what, let's go out for lunch. It's break time anyway. Hunter's out, meeting someone we have undercover working on a case with us."

"Good idea, we can do some catching up."

McCall got her purse from upstairs and a short time later they were at Sid's enjoying their lunch.

"So how is married life treating you." McCall wanted to know.

"No complaints here but nothing changed really. We still do everything we did before. Although referring to Dave as my husband feels pretty special."

McCall just smiled thinking about this mornings conversation with Hunter.

"How about you two, have you set a date yet?"

"No, not yet."

"What's the hold up?"

"Me. Rick asked me about it this morning, he really wants to set a date but I keep making up excuses not to," she looked down at her plate.

"Why Dee Dee, is it because of what happened in New York?"

"No and it's not Rick, I really love him and want to be his wife. I'm just scared the same thing that happened to my first husband will happen to him, being killed in the line of duty. At Steve's grave I swore never to get that close to a cop again and look where it got me."

"You haven't talked to Rick about your reservations."

"No, I don't know if he'll understand."

"C'mon Dee Dee, give him a little more credit. He waited for you when you decided to stay in New York, he excepted your explanation, respected your decision. He's the most understanding guy I know."

"You're right but it's hard for me to talk about this with him. I told Kitty, one of my colleagues and best friends."

"Talk to him. It's the only way to deal with it. Dave and I did, I had some doubts and it turned out he had some reservations too but we worked it out. It's give and take."

"You know Kitty told me the same thing."

Mel reached for McCall's hand, "You're gonna be okay, believe me."

When they got back to the car after lunch Hunter was calling for her on the radio,

"L57, go ahead."

"Hey, where have you gotten to."

"Always checking up on me," McCall said to Mel before answering.

"Lunch Dear. An old friend dropped by and we got a bite to eat."

"Anyone I know?"

"Nosy too,"

Mel was trying to keep from laughing.

"Oh, I don't' know but we're on our way back so you can meet her."

"Okay, see you soon. L56 out."

"Is he always like this?" Mel wanted to know.

"Only when I forget to leave a note," McCall joked.

Hunter was surprised to see Mel step off the elevator with McCall and greeted her with a hug,

"What are you doing here? Those islands not sunny enough for you?" he joked.

"That and the boredom got to us. We need a busy city so we decided to leave and check out LA."

"Good choice. Where's that husband of yours anyway?"

"He stayed at the hotel, wasn't feeling so good after the bumpy flight we had."

"I would have offered you the spare room at my place but it's taken. Long story."

"That's okay, we want to hang onto that holiday feeling for a bit longer."

"You are joining us for dinner tonight right?" McCall pitched in.

"Can't say no to that."

"Great, that's settled," McCall wrote down the address and some directions.

"I'll let you get back to work and see what my husband is up to. See you tonight."

"You will talk to him," Mel said to McCall as she walked her to the elevator.

"Yeah I will."

"How did your meeting with Brad go?" McCall asked Hunter as she had returned to her desk.

"Not too bad, his hint dropping paid off, sort of. Ben James called him into his office and explained that a former employee of theirs was now facing fraud charges because he wanted to make fast money. But if he was willing to take that chance he had to come to the office tomorrow night at eight."

"Great, the net is closing slowly. He is going right?"

"He'll be there, with a wire. And we'll be there watching across the road."

McCall's eyes started to sparkle, "This could be it."

A smile played Hunter's lips, he knew exactly what she meant. "Yeah, this could be it."

"Did you tell him about the guy Jim told me about?"

"He'll look into that."

That evening Jim made them an extraordinary dinner. He had offered to leave for the evening but both Hunter and McCall wouldn't hear of it, so he offered to cook.

"Where did you learn how to cook like this?" McCall asked him after she had a little taste.

"The comfort of my own kitchen. Everyone must have a hobby to wind down sometimes and cooking did that for me. It's fun to try out the things you pick up on your travels."

"Well I've never seen the fun in cooking," she admitted.

"Ah, that explains the take out regime here," Jim joked.

McCall rolled her eyes and left him to it.

It was close to midnight, Mel and Dave had gone back to their hotel, Jim had turned in and Hunter and McCall were enjoying a last glass of wine after cleaning up.

The night was warm so they sat outside on the bench, snuggled close.

"I need to tell you something," McCall started.

"Okay," Hunter replied hesitantly knowing her tone of voice, something serious was on her mind.

"It's about the wedding. I'm afraid Rick, afraid to commit myself to someone that I can lose the same way I've lost Steve. I'm not gonna ask you to quit your job for me, I know how much being a cop means to you. I'm also not gonna say I won't marry you cause a big part of me wants to. But the other part that's holding me back is the fear of losing you. Do I make sense?"

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks but at the same time knew she was making sense and he knew exactly what she meant.

"Say something Rick, please." she pleaded.

He drew in a sharp breath, "I'm not Steve, Dee Dee."

The words coming from his mouth sounded hard.

"But I know what you mean, it's been on my mind too. Knowing that every day I can lose you. It has a whole new meaning now that we are a couple. I'm glad you told me and I'm not gonna push you anymore. Just let me know when you're ready to do this."

"What did I do to deserve you," she sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

He wrapped his arm around her tightly, he had to be patient.

Neither of them got a lot of sleep that night, both kept awake by their thoughts. By the time McCall finally fell asleep it was almost time to get up again.

Standing under the falling water in the shower she made a mental note of what she had decided earlier that morning.

Preparations for what was to come that evening were in full swing later that day. Brad was supposed to come to the precinct after his work to get wired up. They had to check the equipment, pick out the right location for the Van and arrange backup.

"What time did Brad say he'd be here?" McCall asked Hunter.

"About five thirty."

"He's late." was her short answer.

Hunter looked at the clock, it said five thirty five, "He'll be here soon."

Another five minutes later Brad walked in, "Sorry I'm late. I've got some bad news, the meeting's off."

Everyone preparing for this night stopped with whatever they were doing.

"What!" McCall's already short fuse was about to cause an explosion.

Hunter walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, slowly she calmed down.

"I'm sorry guys," Brad continued. "Something came up is all they told us. They rescheduled for the day after tomorrow."

"That gives us time to double check every move, every little detail before getting this show on the road," Hunter told everyone in the room.

In the early hours of the morning Hunter woke up. The spot next to him, where McCall was supposed to be, was empty.

He got out and went downstairs to get a glass of water, that's when he saw her sitting on the beach.

As he approached he noticed she was crying. He draped the blanket he had brought over her shoulders followed by his embrace,

"What's wrong honey" he whispered.

"I'm two weeks late Rick," she said softly.

"Two weeks late? Dee Dee that's great. Have you taken a test yet?"

"No."

"Want me to get one for you tomorrow?"

She turned her head and looked at him, eyes red from crying, "I'm scared. What if it goes wrong again."

"Hey, that wasn't your fault remember, you were shot."

"But still.."

"We could go see Beth in the morning to have checked out."

"You have a solution for everything these days huh," she smiled through her tears.

"Almost everything."


	10. October

October

How she hated her body right now for playing such a dirty trick on her, making her think she might be the one thing she desperately wanted to be, pregnant.

But the look on Beth's face as she called them into her office that morning, told her everything the needed to know, false alarm.

"I'm sorry Dee Dee, I know you're disappointed. Everything looks fine, there's nothing keeping you from having a normal pregnancy."

"That's good to hear. Thank you Beth," she replied.

The ride to the precinct was a quiet one until Hunter tried to lighten the mood a little,

"I know you're disappointed and angry but it's not like we can't try again."

McCall sighed, "I know."

"Are you sure you want to go to work?"

"Yeah, there's only one way to get over this, move on."

At the precinct Brad was waiting for them, he had some important news,

"The former colleague hunch was a good one. One of the guest speakers at the meeting is Sam Cooper. He could be the guy Jim told you about. I asked around and found out that even though he's got a job with a different company now, he's still very much involved in this scam."

"Sounds like a pretty big fish to me," Hunter remarked.

"I have to keep a low profile though, some people don't like me asking around."

"Can you get a handwriting sample from him?"

"I already did and send it to the expert, you should get the result later today."

"There's a guy you can work with. Good thinking."

"Thanks. Well I'm off to another day at the office, see you later," Brad picked up his briefcase and left.

"Another step closer to solving this case," Hunter said as he sat down.

He looked at McCall who seemed to be a mile away,

"Everything okay?" he asked.

She turned her gaze at him,

"Yeah, just being miles away. I did hear what Brad had to say though, well most of it anyway."

"What was on your mind?"

"This morning," she sighed. "But not just that. What if we arrest these people tomorrow, the only thing we can charge them with is fraud. Without knowing who set up Jim we can't clear his name and get the charges against him dropped."

"You have a point. I hope this handwriting will get the result we need."

Hunter decided to do a background check on Sam Cooper,

"Clean as a whistle," he told McCall as he returned from the computer room.

"Too clean if you ask me," she replied.

"By the way Mel called while you were gone. She asked if we had time for a little get together tonight, they are going home tomorrow."

"Sure, are you up for it?"

"It will take my mind off things. I'll give her a call then."

Later that day a file was delivered to Hunter's desk, it was from the handwriting expert,

"Bingo, a perfect match."

"Great, they thought to be smart by letting an 'outsider' sign the documents hoping no one would find out."

"Exactly, at least now we can prove Jim was set up but a confession from these guys would be even better."

Jim was happy and relieved when they told him the good news,

"I hope this means it will be over soon and I can get back to a normal life."

"Max is sure gonna miss your help," McCall remarked.

"Well, maybe not. He asked me the other day what I was going to do when all this was over. I told him I didn't know yet and he told me that he talked to his boss about letting me stay. I have the job if I want to."

"That's good news. Are you gonna take it?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Why not, it's a great offer."

"It is, don't get me wrong, but my intention was to start over somewhere else. Maybe another part of the country and I even thought of going to Canada."

"That sure is a big change," McCall said making the journey from LA to Canada in her mind.

"Yeah, but like I said I haven't decided yet."

Every officer had taken his place around the office building of Kensington Office Appliances.

Brad had been wired up at the precinct earlier that afternoon and as he walked in he checked if Hunter, McCall and the others in the van were able to hear him. Sgt. Benson stepped out of the van as a signal to Brad that everything was in order.

A block away Charlie and Jim were waiting in the car along with several other cars for their signal to move in.

"Everyone here? I declare this meeting opened. Welcome to a couple of newcomers, you know who you are and let's start with the first subject on the agenda," Ben James started the meeting.

Hunter, McCall and Benson listened carefully as the meeting progressed. It wasn't long until Sam Cooper was announced as a guest speaker.

"He's gonna tell us about how to start your own succesful business," Ben James told everyone.

"And how to succefully ruin someone's life," McCall added sarcastically.

"What?" Benson looked at her.

"Never mind," she replied.

McCall wasn't far from the truth. Coopers talk about a succesful business was turning uglier by the minute. He was explaining to the salesmen how they could use their current job to build a useful network of customers for themselves and how to keep this seperate from the other 'job'. At the end he had a warning,

"Anyone who tries to expose this club or the way it does business will be dealt with the same way we dealt with Jim Gordon."

This was enough for Hunter to call in the troops.

"I'm glad this is finally over." Jim told Hunter and McCall a few days after operation 'secret meeting'.

"Have you decided yet on where to go next?" McCall wanted to know.

"Well, I had a serious talk with Max and I promised him I'll stay on till the end of the year so he has plenty of time to look for a replacement. After that I'll see."

"That's great, having you around a little longer."

By the way I found an apartment so I'll be moving out later this week."

"There's no rush you know." Hunter said.

"I know but I don't want to impose any longer and to be honest I'd like a place of my own again. It's not like we won't see each other anymore."

"You're right, you hardly had any privacy the last weeks."

"Neither have you. Well I'll leave you to it, see you later," Jim said and went on with his job.

"I keep seeing the faces of Sam Cooper, Ben James and the others when we stormed in. They really thought they had gotten away with it," Hunter remembered.

"Yeah, they were pretty quick with their confessions too and trying to put the blame on one another," McCall added.

"And when they saw Jim, they were so sure no one would ever believe him."

"Hmm, but they don't know a person called Dee Dee McCall," Hunter smiled.

A few days later Hunter and McCall helped Jim move into his new apartment, the old one had too much bad memories he had explained to them. Most of his stuff, like the furniture, had to be taken from the old to the new place and it was a heavy job.

When they got home at the end of the day they fell onto the couch,

"I can't lift another finger," Hunter sighed.

"I cant remember feeling this tired," McCall added.

"I'm glad Jim ordered some dinner, I couldn't make it to the kitchen."

"Me neither."

Hunter sighed again and flipped on the TV,

"Nothing decent on here," he concluded after flipping through the various channels.

"I'm gonna take a shower and turn in," McCall said as she lifted herself off the couch.

"I'm gonna be so stiff in the morning."

"Hmm, a warm shower isn't such a bad idea," Hunter remarked.

"You have to wait your turn," McCall said as she headed for the bathroom.

"Your turn!"

Hunter heard her calling from upstairs some time later indicating she was done. He turned off the lights and headed up for his appointment with the nice warm water.

"That felt good," he said as he crawled into bed next to McCall.

"Hmm," was the answer he got from her lying with her back to him.

Suddenly she felt something running down her back that gave her goose bumps, Hunter's finger. The finger was followed by soft kisses that made her let go of a soft moan.

"Do you hear what I'm hearing?" he whispered.

"No, I'm not hearing anything," she replied.

"Exactly, we have the house to ourselves again," he said and continued his kisses.

McCall rolled on her other side to face him, "So did you have something in mind?" she asked teasingly.

"Maybe," a mysterious grin played his lips.

The next morning McCall and Kitty were on their way back to the precinct after checking out a lead,

"So your house guest has moved out?" Kitty wanted to know.

"Yeah he has. We helped him move into his new apartment. It's kinda strange not having him around, It's very quiet. I think I'm actually gonna miss him."

"Oooohhh, does Rick know?" Kitty replied teasingly.

"Euh no, he actually liked having the house back to ourselves again."

"Aahh, I see. Is he still pressuring you about a wedding date?"

"No, he's leaving it up to me. I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. Everyone wants to get married on Valentines day right?"

"Right."

"Well I thought about it but the most romantic date for me would be March the 10th, that's the day we first met."

"Go for it! When are you planning to tell him?"

"This weekend over a romantic dinner."

McCall stopped the car in front of a red light, another car stopped behind her.

Busy chatting both McCall and Kitty had no idea what was about to unfold behind them. A truck was approaching the car waiting behind them but when the truck driver wanted to brake nothing happened. He sounded his horn to try and warn the vehicles in front but it was too late, the truck slammed into the car pushing it forward. The car hit McCall's car catapulting it onto the intersection where a jeep, coming from the right, couldn't avoid a collision. It slammed into the passenger side where Kitty was sitting. Everything went silent for what seemed to be minutes.

Hunter and Brad had just gotten into the car to go back to the precinct as well to meet the girls when a call came over the radio,

"All units. Traffic accident involving a police vehicle on Baker and Atlantic intersection."

"Wanna take that?" Brad asked Hunter.

"Nah, let someone else handle that, the girls are waiting for us."

In the car McCall woke up, blinking against the light at first she tried to remember what had happened. A quick check told her she wasn't stuck and all her limbs were moving. Looking besides her she saw Kitty leaning her way, unconscious and bleeding from a head wound.

A man looked through the shattered window and asked if she was okay.

"I'm okay but get some help for my friend."

"Ambulances are on their way. I'll bring them here as soon as they arrive." the man promised and disappeared again.

"Hang in there Kitty," McCall said as she tried to stop the bleeding with a cloth she always kept in the car.

It seemed like an eternity before the paramedics arrived at the scene, the man kept his word and brought them straight to the car.

One of them took care of Kitty, stabilizing her, while the other checked out McCall. He put a neck collar on her,

"I'm gonna ask some firemen to help me get you out of the car now," he explained.

"Okay."

A short while later he got back with some firemen and they cut the roof off the car to get both Kitty and McCall out safely.

It wasn't long before they were in an ambulance on their way to hospital.

Hunter and Brad had arrived at the precinct,

"Hey, the girls aren't here yet," Hunter pointed to the empty space in the parking lot where McCall always parked her car.

"Maybe they went to the accident," Brad remarked.

Upstairs they were met by Charlie,

"What are you two doing here?" he asked in a surprised and angry tone.

The guys looked at one another and back to Charlie,

"What are we doing here?" Hunter repeated him.

"We work here and were supposed to meet McCall and O'Hearn here to compare notes.

"Didn't you get a call about an accident involving a police vehicle?" Charlie continued.

"Yes, it went out to all units. What are you saying."

"It was McCall's car."

Panic struck.

"What!"

"They have been taken to hospital, that's all I know at this moment."

"Wilshire Memorial?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah,"

Brad had already pushed the button for the elevator to get up and when it arrived they got on,

"I'll call you when I know some more," Hunter said as the doors closed.

Brad drove like a maniac to get to the hospital as fast as he could, he ran a few traffic lights and got there in record time.

The nurse behind the desk told them Kitty was still in the ER waiting for a CT scan and McCall was with her. She arranged for another nurse to take them over there.

As they walked down the hall a doctor rushed passed them telling the nurse to come and help,

"Sorry, I have to go, It's the second door on your right." she excused herself.

"Well manage, thanks," Hunter said to her.

The door was open and both of them stood and watched for a moment. McCall was sitting at Kitty's bedside holding her hand, looking very tired and distraught. Kitty was unconscious, hooked to an IV and an oxygen mask looking very pale.

Brad was shocked seeing his partner like this.

They walked into the room quietly. Hunter stood behind McCall placing his hands on her shoulders, he felt a shiver run through her. The collar around her neck prevented her from looking up to him,

"A truck ran into the car behind us and pushed it onto the intersection. A jeep couldn't go around us and slammed into Kitty's door. I never saw him coming." McCall explained softly.

Hunter gently squeezed her shoulders knowing it was difficult for her telling him this.

"They had to cut the car open to get us out," she continued.

"The most important thing is that you are both alive, what did the doctor say?" Hunter said.

"She broke most of her ribs on the side of the impact and a couple on the other side. Her right arm and ankle are broken. A head wound and probably a concussion. They want to make a CT scan to rule out any swelling in the brain but the machine wasn't available so we're still waiting here."

"What about you?"

"I'm okay, a bit bruised here and there and I overstretched the muscles in my neck. It's not a whiplash according to the doctor, the collar is just on the safe side. He wants to keep me overnight for observation."

At that moment the doctor and some nurses entered the room, the doctor introduced himself to Hunter and Brad,

"Hi, I'm Doctor Bond. Are you relatives of Sgt. O'Hearn?"

"No, we are her colleagues. Sgt. Navarro is her partner and I'm Sgt. McCall's partner," Hunter explained.

"I see. We are taking her for a CT scan to see if there's any damage or swelling in her brain. We will be taking her to the second floor afterwards, you can go up there and wait in the waiting area, a nurse will come and get you when we're done."

Then he turned to McCall,

"Nurse Atkins will take you to your room. You'll be on the same floor a couple of rooms away."

As soon as McCall was settled in her room Hunter and Brad joined her. She looked like she was gonna burst into tears at any moment,

"I can't get the images out of my head. The jeep, the crash, Kitty, I thought she was gone..." emotions got the better of her and she started to cry.

Hunter sat down on the bed and carefully wrapped his arm around her,

"Shh it's okay, you both got out. It could have been a lot worse."

"She's gonna be fine, she's a fighter," Brad pitched in taking her hand.

"I know you are trying to make me feel better, but I can't. Not yet."

"You look tired, why don't you lie down and rest for a while," Hunter suggested.

"Yeah, I feel kinda tired." she said and sank back into the pillows.

"I'm gonna see if I can find out anything about Kitty," Brad said and got up from his chair.

"Okay, I'll stay here with McCall."

Hunter knew Brad was trying to hide the worry for his partner. Since the divorce from his wife had come through Hunter had seen him become closer to Kitty and he knew they were not far from the point where he and McCall were now, being lovers.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a cry, McCall was sitting up in bed sweating and panting.

"What's wrong?" he sat down on the edge of the bed and carefully pulled her close to him.

"The jeep, the crash, it all happened again," she sobbed.

"You had a bad dream, It's just nature's way of coping with these things," he tried to reassure her.

"Not funny Rick."

"I'm serious here, you watch Discovery channel."

His comment made her laugh between her sobs,

"You always know what to say," she said softly.

Brad entered the room looking a lot more relaxed than before,

"Kitty's scan looks good, no bleeding or swelling. The doc said she probably has a concussion. She'll be in her room in a minute."

Doctor Bond came to find Brad to inform him about Kitty's condition,

"As you know the scan was clear, nothing to worry about. We'll be keeping a close eye on her as long as she's unconscious."

Then he turned to McCall,

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired, my body feels stiff and aches."

"No headache?"

"A little."

He picked up her chart, "You are spending the night, good, we can keep an eye on you as well."

McCall's facial expression told him she wasn't happy about it.

"It's just a precaution, the accident you were in wasn't an ordinary fender bender."

"I think he's right," Hunter pitched in.

"Fine, I'm too tired to argue about this anyway."

Hunter stayed with McCall until a nurse told him he really had to go.

McCall was lying back in the thick, fluffy pillows playing the day's events in her head. She remembered the conversation she had with Kitty just before the crash, marrying Hunter. It would change so many things, they wouldn't have to sneak around anymore but they would be split up as partners. It was new partners at the homicide department or even transfer out.

McCall knew she would miss having Hunter around all the time, having to place her life into someone else's hands would be difficult but on the other hand a transfer maybe wasn't a bad idea. It could mean new career chances.

When McCall woke up the next morning it was light, the sun shone into her room and there was someone sitting in the chair next to her bed.

"Charlie?" she said with a raspy morning voice.

"Yeah it's me, good morning. How are you feeling?"

"Okay, a bit sore and stiff. Have you seen Kitty yet?"

"I have, she's still unconscious. Brad stayed with her the whole night. When this is over the five us us have to have a serious talk"

McCall looked down at her hands.

"I saw the way Brad looked at Kitty and I don't think I can keep this from certain people any longer," Charlie continued.

"I understand," McCall replied.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking about it myself. Rick asked me to marry him a while ago, I haven't given him my answer yet but I really want to."

"That's great McCall. Congratulations." Charlie rose from his chair and gave her a kiss.

"Thanks Charlie."

"Having a celebration without me?" a familiar voice sounded through the room.

"And a very good morning to you too Hunter," Charlie said turning to face him.

"Morning Charlie," Hunter replied with a big grin on his face.

"I'm going to leave you to it and check on Kitty before I go back to the precinct."

"Thanks o dropping by Captain." McCall said.

"No thanks and think about what we talked about."

"I will."

"Think about what?" Hunter wanted to know.

"Stop being so nosy Hunter."

"I ran into Doctor Bond on the way over, he's gonna come by later to see if you're fit enough to be released into my custody."

"Your custody huh," she repeated and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, how are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday even though I'm still sore and stiff."

"Sounds like you are well enough to be released then." a voice, coming from the door, said.

Neither Hunter nor McCall had noticed Doctor Bind come in. He checked her vitals and some other things,

"Everything is fine, I don't see a reason why you can't go home. Take it easy fro at least a week, your body will tell you if you've gone too far."

"Thanks Doctor, I will."

"Good thing I brought you some clean clothes," Hunter remarked after Doctor Bond had left and placed the bag on McCall's bed.

"I don't remember having this in my wardrobe." she said as she took the clothes out of the bag.

"You don't, I got you something new to cheer you up a bit," Hunter confessed.

"That's sweet of you, thanks you."

A quick change later McCall sat down in the wheelchair,

"I still think this is ridiculous, leaving this way. I feel fine and know how to walk."

"I know, but you'll have to enjoy the ride while it lasts." Hunter joked.

"Rick."

"Yes."

"I'd like to see Kitty before we go home."

"I thought you would," he said and pushed the chair to the elevator.

Charlie had already left when they arrived at Kitty's room. Brad was sitting by her side looking like hell. It was obvious he hadn't slept that night.

"Any change?" McCall asked as Hunter parked her next to Brad.

"Not that I can tell but the Doctor said she is coming out of it very slowly. She's responded to certain tests he was doing."

"That sounds positive. You should get some rest, you look like hell."

Brad looked at her, "You are starting to sound like Charlie. I know but I don't want her to wake up alone."

"She won't, we'll be here," McCall replied and was rewarded with a very angry look from Hunter who thought she should go home and rest.

"Thanks McCall, I could use a shower and some sleep."

"We'll let you know if anything changes."

Brad left and McCall maneuvered her wheelchair into a better position next to Kitty's bed.

"When are you gonna stop feeling guilty? The accident wasn't your fault," Hunter said angrily.

"I don't feel guilty and I know the accident wasn't my fault," McCall answered without looking at him.

"Brad needed some rest."

Hunter knew he wasn't gonna change her mind so he let her be,

"I'm gonna get some coffee," he said and left the room.

"Yeah I'd like some too, thanks for asking," she remarked quietly to herself.

"He's right you know," a soft voice spoke.

McCall looked up into Kitty's eyes,

"How long..."

"Long enough to hear the argument."

McCall sighed, "Okay, maybe I feel guilty. A lot of what if's went through my mind since the accident happened."

"You can come up with a million what if's, the reality doesn't change," Kitty said and wanted to reach for the button to put her bed in a more upright position.

A moan of discomfort escaped as she tried,

"Are you sure that truck didn't run over me?" carefully she moved her arm back to where it was before.

"I'll get the Doctor to check you out before you make any more moves." McCall turned her wheelchair around and headed for the door where she almost ran into Hunter coming through.

"What's the rush?"

"Kitty's awake, I'm getting the Doctor," she explained quickly before riding off.

Hunter went in and placed the two steaming cups he brought on the nightstand,

"Hi there," he said.

"Hi yourself," Kitty answered.

"I would have brought you some too if I knew you wanted some," he joked.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," she smiled.

"Shouldn't Dee Dee be taking it..." Kitty started but Hunter didn't let her finish.

"You know her, the more you tell her to take things easy the more she'll do otherwise."

"Hmmm, you are right. Sometimes I wish I had someone like you around."

"Brad has been here all night. We send him home to get some rest.'

Meanwhile McCall had Brad on the phone to tell him Kitty had woken up and then she went to find Doctor Bond.

On her way to the nurses station a nurse pushing a wheelchair passed her. The person sitting in that chair looked familiar to her even though the face was black, blue and swollen.

'Where have I seen this face before,' she though to herself.


	11. November

November

A week after the accident McCall started work again much to Hunter's dismay.

"Stop being so overprotective," she told him when he said she should stay home a while longer.

"I feel okay, It's only half days and I'll be behind a desk."

He took a step back, away from her, "I'm doing it again aren't I."

"Yes, you are."

"I'm sorry."

"I'll be fine okay, apology accepted." she said taking a sip from her coffee while packing her purse.

"I'm gonna see Kitty when I get off. Charlie promised me a replacement car."

"Isn't she gonna hear when she can leave today?"

"Yeah."

"That means catching up on paperwork this afternoon since my temp partner wants to be there too," Hunter pouted.

"Aahh you poor thing," McCall said teasingly.

"Well we'd better leave so you can make an early start."

"Thanks for your support dear,' he answered sarcastically.

"Oh before I forget, we are going out for dinner tonight," McCall said on her way to the precinct.

"Eating out on a weeknight? What's the catch."

"You'll see," she smiled mysteriously.

At around ten McCall had to go down to sort out some paperwork for her replacement car. When the elevator doors opened she stepped into what seemed an ant farm, people everywhere. She managed to get to the desk sergeant.

"What's going on?" she yelled in his ear.

"Operation High Heels," he yelled back.

"Another one of those plans from upstairs?"

"How did you guess."

"What is it this time, getting into the guiness book of world records for arresting so many prostitutes in so many hours?"

"Something like that. The president is coming for a visit, so we have to remove as many 'bad elements' as possible."

"Great,"

Just as she wanted to leave an officer passed with a young woman. McCall recognized her as the woman she saw at the hospital a little over a week ago. Her face wasn't as swollen but still black and blue. She watched them go down the stairs to the holding cells.

'She looks like she's 18 but she can't be much older then 15 or 16,' McCall thought.

"Probably got beat up by her pimp," the desk sergeant said.

"They get younger every time," she replied.

"Yeah, they do."

"Have you got an arrest form on her?"

"Here you are," he handed it to her.

"Just as I thought," she said to herself as she saw the age mentioned, 18.

"How long are you keeping them here?"

"At least until the president is gone."

"Okay, thanks," she handed him the form.

"Send me a copy will ya."

"Sure."

After sorting out her new car she went back up.

"Have you heard about the president coming?" Hunter asked her as she sat down.

"Yeah, it's crawling with 'bad elements' down stairs."

"You're kidding."

"Nope," she opened the folder in front of her finding all the documents she had asked for.

"Besides, I'm out of here in 10 minutes."

"Great, what car did they give you?" he wanted to know.

"One with four wheels that's gonna take me from A to B," she said with a grin.

"Funny McCall."

"Don't forget about tonight huh."

"I won't. You give my love to Kitty."

"I will, see you later," she gave him a quick kiss and left.

Hunter watched her until the elevator doors closed. He was still feeling worried about her, she looked pale and tired. Knowing her he didn't dare say anything about it to avoid a fight.

When McCall entered Kitty's room Brad was already there. He pulled up a chair for her so she could sit down.

"I'm gonna get some coffee, do you want some too?" he asked.

"I'd rather have some tea, the coffee I had this morning didn't agree with me," McCall replied.

"Okay, back in a sec," he said and left.

"No news yet," Kitty started.

"The doctor hasn't been to see me yet."

"How are you feeling then?"

"Still sore but moving is getting easier every day. I'll have to take things easy for a while though. How is being back at work?"

"Busy. The president is coming so they decided to pick up as much prostitutes as possible."

Kitty rolled her eyes, "Typical."

"Well some of them will be happy to be off the street and out of the hands of their pimp for a day or so." McCall said.

"Yeah, I guess you are right about that," Kitty agreed.

Brad walked in with three steaming cups followed by Doctor Bond and a whole bunch of medical students.

"Mr. Phelps you can present this case," he said to one of them while Brad put down the cups.

"Miss O'Hearn was brought in after a car accident with multiple fractures on the right side of her body and a concussion. The last test look good."

"Should you say she was ready to go home?" Doctor Bond asked him.

"I think so, she has to get some help though."

"Okay, I agree," he turned to Kitty.

"You can go home tomorrow on the condition that you have someone to help you around the house."

Kitty looked at Brad, "Yes, I do have help."

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow," Doctor Bond left followed by his students.

Kitty looked at McCall, "Miss? Should I take that as a compliment?"

"At your age, yes," McCall joked.

"Thanks a lot."

"I understand I'll have to be your servant for a week or so?" Brad asked.

"At least a week,"Kitty grinned.

"Charlie won't be happy,"

"Neither will Hunter," McCall pitched in.

"I guess I'll have to ask him," Brad continued.

Time flew by, McCall noticed as she checked her watch,

"I have to go, I'm meeting Rick for dinner and have to get ready first."

"Have a good time," Kitty gave her a wink.

"We will. I'll drop in on you when you are back at home. Bye Brad."

"Bye, have fun."

McCall drove home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. Hunter walked through the door just as she left the shower.

"Hi, I'm done in there."

"Great, I could do with a little freshening up after a day behind the desk. How's Kitty?"

"She's fine, coming home tomorrow."

"Good for her," he gave her a quick kiss and slipped into the bathroom.

It wasn't very busy at the restaurant being a weeknight, the intimate atmosphere was just what McCall needed for her proposal to Hunter. She took a sip from her wine and started the conversation.

"I was thinking about how we met the other day."

Hunter looked at her, "That was a while ago."

"Can you still remember the date?"

"Yes, March 10th 1984 at your house. Two months later you became my partner."

"Good memory."

"Thank you. Why do you ask?"

"I've been thinking about your proposal a lot lately."

Hunter's eyes began to lite up and he watched her expectantly.

"I want the date to be March 10th." she said.

"You are talking about our wedding date?" he asked no quite believing what had just been said to him.

"Yes, I am."

"Whoehoe!" Hunter jumped up from his seat and did a quick dance.

The few guests in the restaurant all looked up to see where the noise was coming from.

McCall put her hands over her eyes, shaking her head in embarrassment,

"Rick stop, please," she pleaded.

"Oh no, the whole world can see me like this. Rick Hunter, a happy man."

He finally sat down, "When did you decide?"

"A while ago. I was talking about it with Kitty the day we had the accident. That made me even more determined, life's too short as it is and it's better spend with someone you love."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," he replied as he reached for her hand.

Enjoying their main course Hunter broke the silence, "Why are you so interested in Candy?"

"How did you know?"

"Cause Sgt. Harper asked me if you wanted to talk to her before she's being released. I told him I'd ask."

'Damn,' McCall thought before answering him.

"I saw her at the hospital when I went to get a Doctor for Kitty. She was wheeled past me, all black and blue. Her face was swollen but there was something familiar about her. So when she was brought in today I asked for her arrest form. She says she's 18 but I don't believe that. I know i've seen her before but I can't put my finger on it."

"And you are gonna find out, right?"

"Yes, I am. It will be one less kid on the street."

"If I can help in any way just let me know," he offered knowing that if you can't beat them you better join them.

"Thanks," she said hesitantly expecting him to have a go at her for getting too involved.

They finished their meal in silence and Hunter ordered desert.

"You'll never believe who I ran into the other day," he said.

"Who?"

"My cousin Paulie and his girlfriend."

"He's out of prison?"

"Yeah, they had to let him go on a technicality."

"Does he still have the same girlfriend?" McCall's facial expression became dirty.

"He does."

"Ugh, she ought to be arrested for impersonating a woman."

Hunter almost chocked on his desert when she made the comment, "What!"

"It's true," she defended herself.

"Yeah, It's true but I never looked at it that way," he replied.

After a perfect night out they walked home on the beach. Hunter had his arm around her shoulders, McCall had hers around his waist and both were enjoying the breeze and the smell of the ocean.

"What are your plans with Candy?" Hunter wanted to know.

"I think she's getting beat up by her pimp, I wanna put a stop to that and get her off the street. Like I said before, I know that girl I'm sure of it."

The next morning McCall headed for the holding cells to interview Candy but she wasn't there.

"Frank where did all the prostitutes go?" she asked one of the officers.

"The president isn't coming so we let them go earlier this morning."

"Great!" McCall said and headed back upstairs.

"That was quick," Hunter looked at her as she sat down at her desk.

"The president isn't coming so they let them walk this morning,"she replied.

"Ooh," McCall sat up in her chair placing her hand on her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Hunter asked worried.

"My stomach is doing cartwheels. That stuff they call coffee around here finally got the better of me."

"Not something you ate last night?"

"Don't think so, it started after I had some coffee. I'll stick to tea for now I think."

At that moment the phone rang, "McCall, homicide. Hey Frank, yeah that's great thanks." she hung up and turned to Hunter, "Candy's been spotted at Hollywood Boulevard."

"What's the plan, bring her in?"

"No," she answered slowly.

"I want to take care of this from the inside."

"Charlie will never approve," Hunter remarked.

"Charlie doesn't have to know, we can say it's for another case."

Hunter rolled his eyes and shook his head, "I don't know where you get these ideas from."

"You taught me well," she replied with a grin.

Charlie's permission for her undercover job was easy to obtain for McCall,

"He just couldn't resist me," she told Hunter later. "We can start tomorrow."

"What about your half days," he wanted to know.

"I can manage."

Before he could start a discussion she picked up the phone to call Kitty.

Later that evening at home Hunter tried to discus the undercover job again. McCall told him the same she had told Charlie earlier that day,

"I feel strong and well enough to do this and as soon as I don't feel well enough I'll quit the surveillance. Trust me on this one," she looked him straight in the eye.

"Okay, I trust you but that doesn't mean I have to like it," was Hunter's response.

"I went to Hollywood Boulevard to see if she was there," she continued.

"And?"

"She was, she looked pretty scared to me. I bet her pimp beats her up and demands more every time. As I was watching her the last piece of the puzzle fell into place, I know where I've seen her before. She used to live next to me with her mom about four years ago."

"I can remember your neighbor and her daughter, pretty girl then."

"She must have been 11 or 12 at the time. I wonder what happened, I moved and when I drove through the street some time later their house was empty too."

"Could be a wrong boyfriend," Hunter said.

"Could be."

"I could try and find her mother when you are out there."

"That would be great, thanks."

"How was Kitty settling in?" he changed the subject.

"Pretty good. She's got Brad busy waiting on her hand and foot. He will be tied up there for a while."

"Poor guy," Hunter grinned.

The next day Hunter dropped McCall off and went on his own quest. Driving through the street where McCall used to live he was trying to remember the girl's real name, 'Joan? No. Joanna? No. Hannah, that's it. Hannah Hudson.'

He pulled over in front of the house, it looked a bit run down, in need of a lick of paint and a good gardener. He got out, walked to the front door and rang the bell.

An elderly lady opened the door,

"Hello, who are you?"

"Good morning, I'm Sgt. Hunter LAPD. I'm looking for the Hudson family."

"The Hudson family? They don't live here anymore."

"Oh, do you happen to know where they went to?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Well it's for my partner, she used to live next door to them and would love to see them again."

"Ah, well all I know is that Mrs. Hudson lost her job and they had to sell this place. I don't know where they went to. Maybe the other neighbor, Mrs. Jeffreys, knows. She's lived here a long time."

"Thank you, I'll go see her."

Hunter said goodbye, walked to the house next door and knocked.

"Good morning Mrs. Jeffreys?" he asked when another elderly lady opened the door.

"Yes?" she answered hesitantly.

"I'm Sgt. Hunter, LAPD. I'm trying to locate Mrs. Hudson, she used to live next door to you."

"Is she in some kind of trouble?"

"No, I'm trying to find her cause my partner used to live in the house on the other side of her and she would love to see her again."

"Who's your partner?"

"DeeDee McCall."

"Oh, I remember her. Nice lady, beautiful too, I liked her a lot. I can't help you when it comes to Mrs. Hudson, she moved quite sudden. She lost her job you know and had to sell up quickly cause she couldn't afford it anymore. I felt sorry for the little girl."

"And she never left a forwarding address?"

"No, she didn't."

"Well thank you for your time and help."

"No thanks and say hello to Ms. McCall for me."

"I will."

Meanwhile McCall had found a spot where she could observe Candy and kinda stay out of sight. Candy was looking nervous, pacing up and down the sidewalk, her facial expression blank almost angry.

A car stopped, the driver called out at her and she got in. After a short talk she got out again, this time looking scared.

'Must be her pimp,' McCall thought.

The sound of high heeled footsteps made her turn around finding herself looking at two ladies.

They looked at McCall from top to bottom,

"You look flashy girl, either you are new to this game or you're a cop," said one of them.

"New? The only thing new is this city," she replied.

"I was tired of the cold winters so I hitched up here."

"Cold winters? Where are you from?"

"Boston."

"Boston, I think I have a cousin there or was it Chicago," the other one said.

"Don't mind her. I'm Michelle and the airhead is Lulu," the first one said.

"I'm DeeDee," McCall introduced herself.

"The girl you saw coming out of that car is Candy," Michelle explained.

"Was that her pimp?" McCall wanted to know.

"Yeah it was."

"Mean looking guy."

"He is, they don't call him Snake for nothing. I'm glad he's not my pimp."

"He looks like the kind of guy who takes advantage of weak young girls."

"Right again. Most of his girls are runaways, he picks them up at bus stations or on the street. Then he gives them food and a place to stay, they have to do this in return."

"Can't you do anything about it?'

"One girl tried, she disappeared and was found in a park, strangled. The police couldn't tie him to the murder, he has people and none of the girls said anything."

A car pulled up.

"Customer," Lulu said and walked towards the car.

"Looking for a good time?" she asked as she leaned against the door.

"Yeah, but I prefer the brunette over there," the man said pointing at McCall.

"Dee honey, he wants you," Lulu said as she turned around.

"See you later girls," McCall said and got into the car with Hunter.

"Your old neighbor says hi," he told her.

"Mrs. Jeffreys? She still lives there? She must be about 86 by now," McCall said admiring.

"Tough old lady."

"She sure is. What else did you find out?"

"Not much, the Hudson's moved and no one knows where they went to. How about you?"

"The two ladies I was talking to told me Candy's pimp Snake is a mean guy who picks his girls up from the street and makes them depend on him. He supplies the food and shelter and they have to pay him back this way. One girl tried to stop him but he had her killed."

Hunter sighed, "Now I dislike the idea of you out there even more."

"I'll be fine. What's your next move."

"I'm gonna run their names through the computer, you'll never know what might come up and if that doesn't get a result I'll try city hall."

"I'm gonna try to get a bit closer to Candy. I think Michelle and Lulu will give me a hand."

Hunter dropped her off at the corner of the street, "Be careful," he told her.

"You know I will and would you check on Kitty for me?"

"Sure."

She got out,

"I'll be here honey," she said loud enough and closed the door.

By the end of the day McCall had had several 'costumers', all colleagues helping out and 'earned' a nice amount of money.

"Not bad for a first day here," Michelle remarked.

A couple of days later Hunter drove her to her spot, he was worried cause she had been feeling sick again this morning but wouldn't stay home.

"That will ruin my work so far," she had told him.

She had been observing Candy, who stayed out of the other womens way, and tried to talk to her a few times but Candy would just walk away from her.

The first 'customer' of the day had just dropped her off and McCall was walking back to her spot when a man blocked her way, it was Snake.

"I've been watching you," he said.

"You seem to have a steady flow of costumers but no one to take care of your earnings."

"So?"

"I could do that for you."

"What's in it for you?"

"A percentage of what you earn on a day."

"Hmm, I gotta think about it," she told him and wanted to walk on.

"I've also seen you hang around one of my girls."

"Just being friendly."

"Well don't, she's difficult and has to know her place."

"Okay, I won't do it again." she said and he let her go.

"What did he want?" Michelle asked McCall.

"He wants to be my pimp," she replied.

"You told him no, right?"

"I told him I'd think about it."

"Girl, you are mad!"

"I've been called worse,"

"You must be out of your mind," Hunter's reaction was as she expected when she told him about Candy's pimp and that she wanted to take his offer.

"It could mean a chance to get closer to her. Everything else I tried failed and you are not making much progress either."

"I don't understand, it looks like they just vanished."

"Or, for some reason, are using a different name."

"That possibility crossed my mind and would make the search a lot harder."

"Let me do this, I can get closer to Candy this way, I know it," McCall told him with begging eyes.

"Looks like there's no other choice but one wrong move from him and you are out of there."

"Fair enough."

"Brad called me today. Kitty is driving him up the wall."

"Already?" McCall said surprised.

"He almost begged me to trade places with him," the grin on Hunter's face became bigger and bigger. He could picture the scene in his head.

"I bet. What did you tell him?"

"No."

The next day Snake was waiting for McCall,

"Thought about it?" he asked as she was walking passed the wall he was sitting on.

"I have and you got a deal," she said to him.

"Good, at the end of the day I'll come by, you give me what you earned, I'll take my cut and you'll get the rest."

"What's your cut?"

"25"

McCall went to her spot to wait for her first 'costumer'.

"You are not doing business with him are you?" Michelle wanted to know.

"Yes I am."

"Why? I warned you about him."

"Michelle trust me, I can't tell you right now."

"You are not gonna try and safe that girl. I told you what happened to the other one."

"You did but like I said I can't tell you anything more," McCall looked Michelle in eye when she told her this.

"Okay," she replied softly.

Lulu joined them and changed the subject. They chatted some more until the first costumers showed up.

Halfway through the day McCall walked back to her spot after being dropped off when she ran into Snake,

"Busy day?" he wanted to know.

"Could be worse." she answered.

"Hand over the cash," he ordered.

"What, now but I thought..."

"Now!"

She handed him the money, he counted it, pulled one out and gave it to her.

"This should take care of your lunch."

"One dollar!"

"The other girls can, so I don't see why you should be treated any different." having said that Snake turned around and walked off but he stopped and turned around again.

"By the way, do you have anywhere to stay?"

"Yeah, I have."

At around six Snake's girls gathered quietly in an alley, McCall joined them and waited. After about 5 minutes he showed up and started to call the girls to him one by one. They handed over their money and got one dollar in return before going back out there again.

'This guy's got a huge hold over these girls, they depend on him to give them what they need,' she thought.

'I'd better go along and not make any trouble.'

She watched Candy hand over her money, Snake said something to her what looked like a compliment cause she managed a faint smile before walking away.

When it was her turn McCall handed over the money,

"You're a little goldmine," Snake said to her with a dirty grin on his face and handed her a one dollar bill.

"I thought your cut was 25," she reminded him of what he had said earlier.

"I said that?"

"Yes."

"I lied, now get out there and earn me some more," he pushed her in the direction of the street.

'Pig' she thought as she walked to her spot where Hunter picked her up a few minutes later.

"Where do you wanna go for dinner?" he wanted to know.

"I think it's gonna be a quick take away this time. I gotta stay out tonight."

"What!"

"Snake is watching me like a hawk, I'm his goldmine."

"I don't like where this is going DeeDee,"

"Me neither, I haven't been able to get closer to Candy."

"That's not what I mean and you know it."

"Rick, I'll be fine. Get that through that thick skull of yours."

The rest of the ride went in silence. After ordering and getting their take away Hunter broke the silence, he had some news.

"One of the shelters where I left a description of Mrs. Hudson called this morning. A woman matching the description had some breakfast there. They usually come back for dinner so the lady was willing to give me a call if she does."

"I hope it's her so we can wrap this up. Was she alone?"

"Yes she was, I asked."

"That's no big surprise, Candy lives in Snake's house."

McCall checked her watch, "We gotta go, he's keeping an eye on me."

"I'll send some of the night shift guys by to pick you up," Hunter said on the way over.

"That's fine. Peters, McCoy, Rios, Baxter and Thomas right?"

"Right. I'll let you know when I hear anything from the shelter."

Hunter dropped her off at the usual place and she walked back to her spot.

As she turned the corner she saw Michelle and Candy together. McCall could tell they were arguing by their movements but she wasn't close enough to hear what was said.

Michelle was the first one spotting her coming down the street, Candy noticed and turned around.

"I know you," she said when McCall was a few feet away.

Candy's words took her by surprise,

"You do?"

"Yeah, you used to live next door to me and my mom a long time ago. And you're a cop."

"A cop?" Michelle repeated in disbelief.

"When did you know it was me?" McCall asked calmly.

"When I got arrested I thought I knew you from somewhere and when you turned up here I knew for sure. Why are you here?"

"That's something I should be asking you."

"Shit happens, what's your excuse."

"Getting you out of this shit, Hannah."

"The only person who calls me that is my mom."

"Speaking of her, where is she?"

"Don't know. Since I'm with Snake I lost track of her. He doesn't let us have any outside contacts."

"He doesn't let you have any contacts." Michelle interrupted.

"If he sees you talking like this you are in big trouble. All he cares about is money."

"So does your pimp." Candy reacted.

"But at least he treats me right."

A car pulling up stopped the conversation.

"This one's mine," Michelle said.

"You better sort this out before Snake does," she said before getting in.

"She's right you know," Candy admitted.

"You don't know what he's really like."

"Michelle told me a little."

"Also about the girl that was murdered?"

"Yes, were you there when it happened?"

"I'm not gonna testify if that's what you mean."

"No, how can I be so stupid. You'd rather work for him until he doesn't need you anymore and puts you out with the rest of the trash."

"Hey, you two! Stop the tea party and go earn me some money!" a voice that seemed to be coming out of nowhere yelled.

Candy froze, "Thanks, now we have to earn double tonight," she hissed and walked off.

After a couple of 'clients' McCall was picked up by Hunter,

"Hannah knows who I am," she told him as soon as she got in.

"Great, is she gonna blow your cover?"

"I don't think so."

"Well this will be over soon anyway, I found her mother." he said as he drove off.

"Where?"

"The shelter I told you about, they called to tell me she was there. I went over and had a long talk with her. She remembered you and was very happy to hear that you are looking out for Hannah."

"Did she tell you what happened to them?"

"Like the other neighbor said she lost her job and had to move out. They lived on the street for a while until someone from the shelter helped her get a cheap place to live. She still lives there and even got a job but it pays just enough for the rent and electricity so she has to eat at the shelter. Hannah dropped out of school when some classmates found out how they were living and started to give her a hard time about it. She was ashamed and started to hang out with the wrong people. Before Ann could do anything about it Hannah was out of her house and into Snake's, she still doesn't know how it all happened. She tried to find Hannah but Snake kept moving her around so she lost track."

"That's some story," McCall said, obviously impressed by it all.

"I think we can help them get their life back together again," Hunter said.

"I think Hannah knows more about the murder then she lets on" McCall replied.

"What's the next step gonna be?"

"Pick her up, make sure she's safe and let her tell her story."

"Works for me. I'll drop you off at the precinct and get some guys together to give me a hand. We'll do a routine sweep."

When Hunter and the others arrived at Candy's spot she wasn't there so they decided to wait until she showed.

When she did they sprung into action, arresting everyone there at that moment including Snake who was on his way to talk to Candy.

At the precinct the girl's were put in a cell separate from Snake, only steel barrs keeping them apart. McCall was already there.

"How did you get here?" Snake wanted to know.

"My client turned out to be a cop," she answered him.

"Rats, every once in a while they arrest a whole bunch of us, leave us in a cell for a few hours and let us go. Just to piss us off," Snake hissed.

He was wrong this time, they had to spend the night.


	12. December

December

Early next morning Hunter came in,

"Mr. Barry," he said as the door was opened.

"You can come with me."

A couple of big strides brought Snake to the door.

"Turn around," Hunter ordered.

Snake looked at him for a second and slowly turned his back to him, he was cuffed.

"Is this necessary?" he asked.

"Standard procedure," Hunter said as he turned Snake around and guided him in the right direction.

"See you later ladies," Snake said as he walked off.

'Don't bet on it,' McCall thought.

A few minutes later Hunter returned to get both Hannah and McCall, he took the to an interview room.

"Mr. Barry is in an cell with closed walls and door thinking he'll be out soon," Hunter said as he closed the door.

"Sit down, can I get you some coffee?" he asked Hannah.

"Yeah, thanks,"

"McCall?"

"No, thanks," even the smell of coffee made her feel sick lately.

Hunter could tell her disgust but didn't say anything about it.

"You want me to tell you about Snake right?" Hannah broke the silence.

"We know what he did but we want to know what you know about it," Hunter said as he poured the coffee.

"Nothing," Hannah replied.

"I don't believe you, I think you know more but are afraid to tell. Afraid Snake or one of his mates will do the same to you."

"We can protect you, you know," McCall pitched in.

"Yeah right. They promised Carla protection and look what happened to her."

"We will you and anyone who is willing to help us put this scumbag off the street."

"How long will he be behind barrs?"

"The rest of his sorry life, at least."

Hannah still hesitated.

"You are going into the witness protection program, you'll get a new identity, a new past and you'll be moved to another state. With your mom." McCall explained.

"My mom? I don't even know where she is."

"I found her, she's on her way," Hunter replied.

"Well, my life can't get any worse then it is now. I was there, all his girls were there when he strangled Carla."

"Snake did it himself?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, we were having breakfast, he came into the kitchen, put a rope around Carla's neck and strangled her. Then he ordered two girls to help him carry her outside to his car and put her in the trunk. One of his mates named Slim stayed behind to guard us until he got back. When he did get back we were send out on the street to do our business, no one ever said anything. We all knew, we got the message, mess with Snake and die. He knew."

"Do you think the other girls will tell their story?"

"I'll talk to them if you want. I think I can convince them it's safe and that we can put an end to this."

"We can make sure they get some help getting their lives back together." McCall promised.

Hannah had a long talk with the rest of the girls and they decided to help and tell their story making sure Snake would pay for what he had done. Now it was time for Hannah to be reunited with her mother.

McCall took her to Captain Devane's office where Hunter and Ann Hudson were waiting. As soon as the door opened they both broke down in tears followed by a hug.

"Let's leave them for a while," Hunter said quietly to McCall.

"Yeah, they have a lot of catching up to do."

It took them a few days to get all the statements from the girls. Thanks to Hannah they were willing to cooperate. The DA had enough to put Snake away for a long time. He also said he would do everything to make sure the trial would be over soon so everyone could get on with their lives.

Hunter prepared the group who were willing to testify,

"The DA will notify you when he thinks your testimony is needed, he will explain everything to you. Don't be afraid, Snake will not be able to get to you."

A sigh went through the room.

"We will need an address or phone number where you can be reached."

After the girls had left Hunter went back to his desk finding McCall sitting at hers staring into space nibbling on a cracker.

"Hello, anyone there?" he asked waving his hand in front of her.

"Oh hi, how did you go with the girls?"

"Fine, no problem. What's on your mind?"

"I got a letter from Mel. She and Dave are expecting a baby."

"That's great news, when is she due?"

"In about 5 months. She wrote that her Captain has put her on desk duty already. It's driving her nuts."

"I can imagine, she's not the desk type."

"Not at all, I feel sorry for her."

"Charlie would do the same to you, you know."

"I know," she answered wondering if Hunter suspected anything.

She didn't want to tell him just yet that she'd seen Beth last week and that her suspicions were true, she was pregnant again.

The feeling that he knew something didn't let go of her for the rest of the day.

That evening, while Hunter was making dinner, McCall made a start on a letter to Mel.

"Don't write anything I wouldn't," he said from the kitchen when he saw what she was doing.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Dinner ready yet? I'm starving."

"Almost, you could make yourself useful and set the table."

A short while later they were sitting at the table. Hunter was watching in amazement how McCall poured plenty of ketchup over his rice with salmon and vegetables.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were the one being pregnant instead of Mel."

McCall looked up, "Why?"

"Look at what you're doing to my fine cooking!"

"It's just a little ketchup."

"A little! More like a whole bottle."

She looked down at her plate and back up to Hunter,

"I don't see the problem," she said and took a bite.

"Great cooking hon."

Shaking his head he started on his own dinner.

The next day McCall went to see Kitty. She was surprised to see Kitty open the door herself,

"Where's your butler?"

"Running an errand. He's driving me insane. Come in."

She entered and Kitty closed the door behind her,

"The doctor said I had to start doing things as soon as I felt up to it. I feel up to it but Brad insists on keeping me an invalid."

"He's just looking out for you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. He means well and everything. Want some coffee?"

"Tea please if you got any."

"I have."

McCall followed Kitty into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"So when are you due?" Kitty asked.

"Hoe did you know?" McCall answered in surprise.

"Call it female intuition and a sister who has two kids. I could read the signs the last time I saw you."

McCall sighed, "You read it right. I'm due in about 5 1/2 months."

"That's great news, how did Rick react?"

"I haven't told him yet."

"What! The most important thing in your lives just happened and you haven't told him yet?"

"I haven't found the right time."

"Is there a right time?"

"I don't know."

"There isn't, believe me."

Kitty put two steaming cups of tea on the table and sat down.

"Just sit him down and tell him."

"That easy huh?"

"It is and you know it. When is that pimp's trial by the way."

"They haven't set a date yet, I hope it will be soon for the sake of the girls."

"I have seen some bad pimps in my time but this one.."

They enjoyed the tea in silence.

Later that morning McCall had her chance to talk to Hunter. She was gonna meet him for lunch.

"Enjoying your day off?" he asked her as they were looking through the menu.

"Yeah, I went to see Kitty."

"How is she doing?"

"Great, Brad is driving her nuts, she can't lift a finger without him getting all fussy."

"Taking his job very seriously is he."

"I guess."

"I think I'd do the same."

"You think? I know you'd do the same."

"Thank you very much for the vote of confidence," he said with a grin.

A short while after ordering a waitress brought their food. McCall took a bite and decided it needed a little ketchup. Hunter watched in disgust as she poured the red substance over her food.

"DeeDee, please."

"It just needs a little something," she replied.

"Give me a break."

"I will, after you tell me what's going on," he said taking the bottle from her before she could empty it.

A deep sigh followed, "I wanted to wait until Christmas with telling you this."

Hunter looked at her, "Wait until Christmas? You know what's going on already?"

"Yes," she said hesitantly, looking down at her plate.

Suddenly it struck him, the tea drinking, the sick feelings, the weird eating habits.

"DeeDee, are you pregnant?"

She looked up, eyes filled with tears and nodded yes.

"When did you find out? How long?"

"I went to see Beth last week and she confirmed it. I'm about 3 1/2 months gone and everything is fine. Can I have the ketchup back now?"

He handed her the bottle and watched as she poured the remainder of the stuff over her food.

"You'd better start eating, your food is getting cold."

"You know what this means," Charlie said the next morning after they told him.

"Desk duty," McCall growled.

"Not just desk duty. I'll have to tell upstairs about this."

"That means splitting us up as partners," Hunter sighed.

"You know how it works."

"A lot will change anyway," McCall pitched in.

"I think I'll need another kind of police work once the baby is born. I don't wanna spend all my time working. Don't get me wrong, I love being a cop but being a mother is something I wanted for a long time."

"I'll see what I can do, okay?" Charlie promised.

"Thanks Charlie,"

It took a few days before Charlie had some news, "Juvi has got an opening that would be perfect for you. A mix between street and desk work, 9 to 5 and childcare, if you want it."

"Sounds great, who do I talk to?"

"They'll let me know when they want to interview you. I gave them a recommendation."

"You got everything worked out, thanks."

Later that day both Hunter and McCall were due in court to give evidence in the case against Snake. For Hannah and her mom this was the last chance to thank them before starting their new life. When they were all done it was time for goodbye. Hannah brought them a present, a picture of her and her mom,

"To remember me by," she said as McCall unwrapped it.

"I'm not gonna forget you anyway," she promised.

"Neither will I," Hunter pitched in.

Hannah hugged the both of them, "Thank you for finding my mom, thank you for helping the girls, thank you for everything."

"You're welcome," they both said.

A few weeks later on Christmas Eve, they were sitting on the deck. A warm fire was burning in front of them. They had heard some great news earlier about the case against Snake, he wasn't gonna get out of prison for the rest of his life.

"Justice was served this time," Hunter said.

"Hmm," was McCall's reply leaning against him with her eyes closed.

"Are you sleeping?"

"Almost, It's such a nice night."

"It sure is," he wrapped his arms around her.

"I've got a present for you," Hunter said a few minutes later and put his hand in his pocket.

When he opened his hand there was a small black box in it.

"What's this?" McCall said surprised.

"Open it."

Carefully she took the box and opened it. Inside was a ring, a very old looking but beautiful ring.

"Oh Rick, It's gorgeous," she said softly.

"It's been in my family for a long time," he took the ring out of it's box and slid it on her finger.

A perfect fit.

"Thank you," McCall turned around and kissed him.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

Christmas was spend with informing the families about the wedding plans and the pregnancy. Everyone was ecstatic, especially Hunter's mom when she saw McCall wearing the ring she had given her son earlier that year.

A little later she took McCall aside,

"I will take care of the wedding for you, you don't have to do a thing."

Hunter had warned her about his mom, she wanted them to have a big Italian wedding. They just wanted a quiet ceremony on the beach with family and some close friends.

She had her plan ready,

"That's really generous of you but there's a problem."

"A problem?"

"My mom had the same idea and you can't really say no to your own mother. Why don't you work together?" she suggested.

McCall knew her mom would respect their wishes concerning the wedding and was able to convince Hunter's mom.

"I'll call her first thing in the morning," she replied.

"Good thing you told me about your mom," McCall said on the way home.

"Yeah, she did the same thing for my cousins wedding."

"I hope it's gonna be alright."

"Your mom will sort it out."

"They are both pretty headstrong."

"Don't worry." a mysterious smile played his lips but McCall didn't notice.

The week between Christmas and New Years was hectic. McCall finally had her interview at Juvi and got the job. Hunter was assigned a new partner but didn't have to break him in, it was Brad.

He and Kitty finally admitted they were crazy about each other. Kitty was the lucky one breaking in a new partner.

New Years Eve, Brad, Kitty, DeeDee and Rick were having a party at Rick's place. It was almost midnight, champagne glasses were being filled for a toast. They had spend the evening looking back at he year gone by and decided the next one was gonna be better.

"Get ready to count down," Brad said while he checked his watch and raised his glass.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...happy New Year!"


End file.
